I Will Fall
by AquaRias
Summary: Part two of Lonely Hearts series, Sequel to In the Heart of a Lonely City. Bruce and Tony have gone their separate ways, but fate has a way of bringing people back together. Post Avengers, post Dark Knight Rises, partly set during Iron Man 3. Slash M/M
1. Hello, Mr Stark

**I Will Fall**

**_By AquaRias_**

**_Summary: _****Part two of Lonely Hearts series, sequel to In the Heart of a Lonely City. ****Tony have gone their separate ways, but fate has a way of bringing people back together. Post Avengers, post Dark Knight Rises, partly set during Iron Man 3.**

**Warnings: Slash main pairing, Femslash side pairing, some het side pairings also. (M/M, F/F, M/F) T rating so nothing explicit.**

**Notes: Also slight crossover with Chicago Fire in that one character makes an appearance. **

**Length will be approx. 50K if all goes to plan. Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter One: Hello, Mr. Stark**

Tony frowned at the screen as he studied the blueprints in front of him, gesturing with his hand to enlarge the hologram. The suit came to life in front of him, spinning slowly as he scrutinized the design.

"She's almost there, J." He announced, leaning back in his chair as the Mark 42 hologram spun before him. "We'll be able to start on the first prototype any day now." He grinned, flicking his hand to make the image disappear.

"Very good, Sir." Jarvis commented. "However I feel I must remind you of your promise to Miss Potts that you would not begin work on a new prototype until _after _the CES expo this weekend." Tony groaned, banging his head on the desk loudly. "I must also remind you of the speech you are required to give at said expo, the one that you informed Miss Potts that you had already written."

Tony sighed at his AI's passively sarcastic tone, frowning slightly. "Got it, J. I'll get right on that." Tomorrow, maybe. Or maybe not, improvisation had always been his favorite kind of speech. "Sir, Bruce is outside. Shall I let him in?"

Tony started at the name, head jerking up as he turned to face the glass door as his thoughts jumbled together in shock. _Bruce was here? What - oh. _He quickly shook his head, reigning in the disappointment that suddenly hit him like a tonne of bricks as he took in the man outside. "Let him in Jarvis." He said quickly, shaking off the uncomfortable feeling that had come over him.

"Hi, Bruce. Didn't know you were back." He commented, turning back to his computer screen as the doctor shuffled awkwardly inside.

"I, uh...well I guess I felt like it had been long enough." Dr. Banner said quietly, stopping to stand at Tony's side. "That, and Fury's been on my case about coming back." He admitted, shaking his head.

"Well it's good to have you." Tony assured him, motioning towards the empty desk on the other side of the lab. "Mi casa es su casa, and all that."

Bruce took the offered seat, shooting Tony a grateful smile. "How's it been at Avengers Tower anyway? I didn't run into anyone on the way down."

"Ugh." Tony groaned. "Avengers Tower my ass." He muttered. "Widow and Bird brains have been on some extended mission for Fury for months now and Thor has been dealing with Loki's punishment in Asgard. Guess the justice system takes a bit of time up there." He frowned heavily. "And with you gone, it's just been me and the Cap. You can imagine how well _that's_ been going."

"Sorry." Bruce shrugged, looking rather unapologetic in Tony's opinion.

"Eh," Tony shrugged. "I suppose it isn't that bad. Me and Cap have worked things out, for the most part. We'll never be BFFs, but he's been significantly less of a self righteous douchebag in recent months."

"Good to hear." Bruce said with a nod. "Any idea when Fury's going to reassemble?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Tony sighed. "Old one eye has been rather quiet, not that I'm complaining. If he's not calling then it means he's not bitching at me about security breaches or protocol lapses. Please tell me you'll stay here anyway though, I'm in desperate need of intelligent conversation and Jarvis just isn't cutting it." He whined, turning a pleading gaze to his fellow scientist.

"Not like I have anywhere else to go." Bruce shrugged.

"Great!" Tony's face lit up with delight. "How are you at writing speeches?"

...

Tony woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright as he blinked furiously in the darkness. "Jarvis, lights!" He snapped hoarsely, eyes widening as the lights flickered on almost instantly.

The room was empty, there was no chitauri army and he _wasn't_ sailing through a wormhole into space. He collapsed back into his pillows, rubbing his forehead with a groan as his free hand came to rest on the arc reactor in his chest. "Ugh," He groaned loudly as his head pounded. "J, what time is it?"

"It is just after 3 AM, Sir. You have slept for approximately an hour and a half." Jarvis answered, a faint note of concern in his voice.

Tony nodded, closing his eyes as he tried to slow his breathing. _Get it together Stark._ He thought to himself, banishing the unwanted images from his mind. "What time are we leaving for Vegas?" He wondered as he pulled himself out of bed.

"Not until 1 PM Sir," Jarvis answered. "Might I suggest that you get a few more hours sleep? You have slept less than ten hours in total this week, Sir." There was that concern again, much to Tony's irritation.

"Nope, sleep is for the weak." He muttered as he pulled on a shirt. "I'm going to the lab."

When he arrived at the lab he was more than a little surprised to see Bruce Banner awake, working on something on his side of the room. He glanced up as Tony entered, smiling slightly.

"Tony." He greeted with a nod.

"Banner." Tony frowned as he took his seat. "What are you doing up? I thought I was the only chronic night owl around here."

"Jet lag." Bruce offered with a small shrug. "It always takes me a little while to adjust."

They worked in silence for a while, until Bruce finally sighed and closed down his computer, leaning back in his chair. "So, I saw Steve this morning." He said finally, pulling Tony's attention away from the Mark 42 blueprints. "He said you made an interesting friend last month."

Tony frowned, turning to face Bruce with a sigh. "Did he now? Steve has a big mouth." He grumbled with a glower.

Bruce simply stared, waiting for Tony to elaborate.

"Not much to tell." Tony shrugged. "Batman was here for a case, needed my help - I helped him, he left. No biggie."

"Uh huh." Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Steve said you two were pretty good friends."

"Nope." Tony shook his head stubbornly. "Don't know where he got that idea from."

"He seemed a little concerned," Bruce added, eyeing Tony carefully. "Wanted me to ask you about it..." He paused slightly before continuing. "Make sure you were okay."

"Okay?" Tony scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be?" He frowned, feeling more than a little uncomfortable at the turn this conversation had taken. "Tell Steve to mind his own God damned business." He snapped, turning away from Bruce and back to the screen in front of him.

Bruce eyed him for a second, before nodding slowly. "Okay Tony, whatever you say." He sighed. "But I'm here if you want to talk about it."

Tony snorted, refusing to acknowledge that with a reply. Bruce frowned behind him before standing up and heading for the door. "Seriously Tony, if you ever want to talk..." He paused with his hand on the door. "I'm here for you, Science bros and all that." He added with a chuckle.

"Noted." Tony said briskly, not looking away from the screen. A moment later he heard the hiss of the door as Bruce left, probably to try and get some sleep. "Jarvis, remind me to have a word with Captain Nosey-pants." He snapped as he enlarged the blueprints in front of him. He bristled with irritation for the next few hours as he worked on the blueprints, snarking at Jarvis as he went.

"I don't need their damn _concern._" He muttered angrily under his breath. "And I don't need _yours_ either!" He snapped, glancing up at the ceiling as he addressed his silent AI.

"No Sir." Jarvis replied somewhat sadly. "According to you, you don't need anyone."

"I _don't_." He snapped angrily, leaning back in his chair. "I don't need Banner, I don't need Pepper pretending to care when she's the one who dumped _me_, and I definitely don't need Captain fricken America telling everyone how God damned concerned he is about me. Jesus." He rubbed his temples feeling a headache coming on. "How long until we're in Vegas?" He demanded deciding it couldn't come at a better time - he definitely needed a break from the Tower now more than ever.

...

Vegas, as always, was Tony's kind of city. He knocked back at least five scotches on the plane, meaning he was more than pleasantly buzzed by the time the plane was back on the ground. He didn't need to be at the convention center for his speech until the following day, so he made his way from the plane directly to the hotel's casino.

He played a few hands, downing four more scotches and two complimentary glasses of champagne as he lost every round, becoming steadily more tipsy as the night wore on. He finally retired from the tables after he had lost several thousand bucks on crappy hands, taking a seat with his new friend - Shannon. Or was it Sharon? He couldn't be sure, but whatever her name was she was _gorgeous_ and exactly his type; a long legged blonde with curves in all the right places. He had been talking to her almost all night, and he had thoroughly enjoyed her company more than he usually did the typical hangers on he always attracted. She was funny and smart - an IT consultant, also in Vegas for the CES expo - and did he mention _smoking_ hot?

"Wanna take this upstairs?" She whispered, lips almost touching his ear as he leaned in to hear her over the noise of the casino.

He nodded quickly, taking her hand as she pulled him to his feet. He stumbled slightly for a moment before regaining his balance, throwing an arm around her as they made their way up the stairs.

"Careful!" She cautioned with a laugh as he nearly missed the last step. "You Sir, are a little bit drunk." She teased.

"Nope." He denied, shaking his head furiously. "Not drunk, just..." He trailed off, blinking as he tried to remember what he had been saying. Finally he settled on just a shrug, causing his companion to laugh once more.

"Which floor?" She said finally as they stopped outside the elevator.

"Penthouse, of course." Tony scoffed, shaking his head. "You _clearly_ don't know me at all."

"I know you." She assured him as she helped him into the elevator. "You're Tony Stark, everyone knows you."

Tony frowned, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the wall. His head was swimming and his vision was beginning to blur a little at the edges, which was never a good sign. "I suppose that's true." He sighed.

She carefully helped him out of the elevator and into the penthouse, steering him towards the huge double bed that was waiting for them. He collapsed onto it with a sigh, watching as she made her way to the minibar fridge.

"Can I get you another drink?" she asked, pouring herself a glass of champagne.

"Hmm." Tony closed his eyes, rubbing his temple. "Best not I think."

"Probably a good idea." She said with a laugh, placing her glass on the bedside table. "We do need you conscious for a little bit longer, after all." She teased as she unzipped her dress. Tony watched, eyes slightly glazed over as she slowly slowly slid her dress down and presented herself to him in just her black lingerie. She was stunning, there was no question...and yet Tony found himself faced with a distinct lack of interest on his part.

He shook his head slightly, trying to distract himself as she pushed him down onto the bed and began to unbutton his shirt. He closed his eyes as she continued her ministrations, his thoughts drifting elsewhere for just a moment. Suddenly he found himself imagining a different set of hands on him, rougher calloused hands that were used to hard work. He frowned heavily, his head pounding and stomach rolling as the sheer amount of alcohol he had consumed made itself known. He tried to ignore his discomfit, opening his eyes as he felt her hands pause on his chest.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly. He frowned slightly, bristling a little at the clear concern he saw in her sky blue eyes.

"I'm fine." He snapped, causing her to lean back slightly with a frown.

"Are you sure?" She suddenly looked a lot less sure of herself, her arms folding across her body as she shifted herself off him and onto the mattress beside him.

"I'm sorry." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just..." _Drunk? Confused?_ _Not into it?_ He couldn't find anything to say, and so just shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She reassured him, standing up quickly and collecting her dress off the floor. "I'll just...go."

Tony watched her leave, guilt slowly creeping up on him. What on earth was wrong with him? She was easily one of the hottest women he'd had the chance to fuck, and yet he couldn't deliver. "Too much scotch." He muttered, stumbling over towards the balcony. He threw the door open and leaned on the railing, looking over at the brightly lit city. So much color, a whole city still awake and alive despite the fact that it was after three in the morning. He leaned over the railing, staring down at the pavement so far below him and wondered what it would feel like to fall over it. He closed his eyes as a picture filled his mind; himself in the powerless Mark 7 suit, falling to his death as he slipped back through the wormhole. He jolted backwards, eyes snapping open as the body in his mind rushed towards an imminent impact with the pavement - only this time the Hulk wasn't there to catch him.

He shook his head with a sigh and headed back inside, hoping the alcohol would be enough to lull him to sleep.

...

The speech the following morning at the CES expo went impeccably, if Tony did say so himself. Even though he was more than a little hungover, he managed to pull off the mostly improvised speech about what the tech world could look forward to from Stark Industries, complete with demonstrations. Despite keeping his sunglasses on and doing his best to avoid Pepper, she still found him after his speech and promptly cornered him.

"Tony." She sighed, hands on her hips. "I can smell the scotch from here."

"Yes but _they_ couldn't." Tony shrugged carelessly, pulling out his Stark phone to check the latest tweets.

"I thought you weren't drinking like that anymore." She demanded, raising an accusing eyebrow.

Tony bristled, visibly darkening. "What's it to you?" He snapped. "I'll drink as much as I damn well please."

"Tony." She frowned, softening her tone. "I'm just worried about you. Ever since the battle of New York..." She trailed off, knowing she was in dangerous territory. "Things haven't been the same." She said finally.

Tony scoffed, shaking his head. Of course things hadn't been the same. They had been terrorized by a crazy demi God who had invaded New York with an alien army, Coulson had been killed, Tony had carried a nuclear bomb through a wormhole - and after all that, Pepper had left him, the avengers had disbanded and Tony...well Tony had been left to figure it all out on his own. And then he had met Bruce, and that had turned out about as well as everything else in Tony's life tended to...he shook his head, not letting himself dwell on that line of thought. "I'm fine, Pep." He said instead, knowing that bringing it all up again wouldn't help.

"Are you really?" She implored.

He nodded simply, meeting her gaze for a long moment before turning away. "I have to go, the sponsor's dinner is about to start."

"I know." She sighed. "Happy's waiting outside to take you to the venue. Try to be nice, would you? You'll be in a room with many of the richest and most powerful people in the world." She cautioned.

"Lucky me." Tony muttered, heading for the door.

An hour later Tony was sitting at his table, brimming with agitation as he tapped his fingers on the table listlessly. He had known there was a reason he hated these things, but he had forgotten quite how boring they could be.

"Mmhmm." He said idly as the old woman beside him paused, expecting a response. "I wholeheartedly agree." He nodded quickly, glancing away as she shot him a confused look. She frowned before turning to the man on her other side in hope that he would prove a more interested conversation partner.

Tony sighed, staring into his glass of champagne as he wondered how much longer this dinner would drag on for. They had already sat through several long speeches of benefactors who knew nothing about the tech they were throwing their money at looking to have their egos stroked, and it looked like they were getting ready to start yet another as the host stepped on to the podium once again.

"And finally," He began loudly, pulling the attention of the room towards him once again. "We have our last benefactor without whose contribution the expo could not have gone ahead, the esteemed Mr. Wayne - CEO of Wayne Enterprises."

Tony started at the name, eyes widening as he glanced to the side of the stage. He waited in anticipation as the curtain was drawn back and a man stepped out. At first Tony almost didn't recognize the man in the crisp silver suit, clearly tailor made and as well fitting as they come. His hair was combed back and not a one out of place as he stepped onto the stage, looking every bit the billionaire as Tony had never seen him in person before. It was a far cry from the man he had known, who when not in the Batsuit had always worn jeans. This was the Wayne heir Tony had seen on TV countless times in previous years, not the coffee shop inhabiting man Tony had known so briefly.

"Good evening friends," Bruce began as he reached the podium. "It is my honor to be here with you today. Some of you may be surprised to see me here after the news of my death last year - well I can assure you that those reports were greatly exaggerated. You can imagine my surprise when I returned from my holiday in Europe to find myself presumed dead." He paused with a wide grin as the audience laughed. "However thankfully that is not the case, and I am once again the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Wayne Enterprises has always had a strong interest in technology, and in recent years it has indeed become a large focus of both mine and my company. I believe renewable energy is something that we can all appreciate the value of, and so to be here today in support of the Consumer Electronics Show Expo is my absolute pleasure. As I'm sure you are all aware CES has announced it's focus this year towards renewable energy and the way in which tech companies like ours can help pave the way to a renewable future. We are not quite there yet, but I believe that powering the world with one hundred percent renewable energy is definitely a goal that is on our horizon, we have seen it in New York already and with the combined strength of all the great minds here tonight it won't be long before we are on our way to a brighter, cleaner future. I for one am glad of the part Wayne Enterprises has played and will continue to play in the development of this technology, as I am sure all of you are also. Thank you very much and I hope everyone is enjoying this evening as much as I am."

He stepped down with a nod, shaking hands with the host before disappearing back into the wings as the crowd applauded. Tony blinked, leaning back in his chair as his mind raced. Bruce was _here, _in the same city, in the same _room_. Tony was suddenly glad that this was such a big event, it was entirely possible that Bruce did not even know he was here, and if Tony was careful it could easily remain that way. Tony quickly formulated an escape plan, knowing he could be out the door before Bruce even returned to his table. But did he want to? Would it be so bad if Bruce saw him?

Tony sighed, rubbing his forehead absently. What would he even _say?_ They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms the last time they had spoken, and it was entirely possible that Bruce wouldn't have anything to say to him anyway. He started to reconsider leaving, when his eyes fell on a tall form that was entering through the side door. _Too late_, Tony thought as Bruce made his way back to a table just a few tables behind Tony's. Had he been there the whole time? Tony wondered. Surely Tony would have seen him at some point, being so close. Then again, he had been rather distracted and hadn't payed attention to much of anything since he had arrived.

He glanced up only to quickly look away as he noticed Bruce's dark eyes fixed solidly on him. _That answered that question_, he supposed. He glued his gaze to the table, refusing to look back over and be caught staring again. He was starting to seriously reconsider an escape, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

He lifted his gaze carefully, only to find it locked onto the dark gaze of Bruce Wayne, all handsome and imposing as he stood over Tony.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." Bruce said pleasantly, his deep voice as smooth as honey as he smiled slightly.

Tony blinked away his surprise and steeled himself for the encounter to come as he turned to face him properly. "Good evening Mr. Wayne."


	2. A little like Deja Vu

**Chapter Two: A little like Deja Vu**

Bruce had known from the first moment he had been asked to make a speech at the CES benefactors dinner that he would more than likely run into Tony Stark. He wouldn't call it a _plan_, but he definitely wouldn't call it a mere coincidence either. So it was with a sense of eagerness and anticipation that he had entered the banquet hall, eyes immediately scanning the tables for the familiar face he sought. He had found him rather quickly, his dark sunglasses sticking out like a sore thumb as he listened with one ear to the woman beside him, clearly bored out of his mind.

Bruce took his seat and greeted his table companions cordially before returning his gaze to the subject of his interest - Tony Stark, who had finally removed those silly sunglasses. It had been over a month since he had last seen the other man but he had thought of him frequently since their strained parting. He had returned to Gotham as he had known he had to, and quickly set about reclaiming his life. It had been no real affair to come back from the dead, after all most of those who he cared about had already known. Only Lucius had been in the dark, and even he had seemed to have had some idea before his reappearance. Gordon and Blake had welcomed him back with open arms, and had only been a little disappointed when he assured them that Batman would remain dead to Gotham and the people of his city. Blake had put up a token protest, while Gordon had simply nodded with a knowing look in his eye. All in all, things had worked out more smoothly than Bruce had hoped - even his stolen fortune had been returned to him...And yet somehow he had been unable to shake the feeling that something was missing, that he had unfinished business. He had wondered if it was the absence of Batman that he felt, more keenly now that he was back in his own city...and yet while it was true that he itched some nights as he watched crimes unfold on the news, feeling desperate to help but unable to; the uselessness he felt somehow didn't feel like the whole of it. It took him a few weeks to come to the conclusion, but eventually he did. It was Tony. He regretted nothing more than how things had ended between them, and he knew he needed to make amends. Everything he had now was because of Tony - the life he hadn't hoped to be able to return to but somehow had anyway, it was Tony who convinced him it could be possible. Bruce often wondered if Tony even knew the effect he'd had on Bruce, if he knew how much of a healing impact their admittedly short friendship had on Bruce's state of mind. He doubted it, and he suddenly knew that he needed to make things right with Tony and end things properly, as friends. When the CES expo that Wayne Enterprises had helped fund contacted him about giving a speech he knew immediately that this was the best opportunity he was going to get. The only other option he had been able to come up with was turning up at Tony's door and begging for his forgiveness, which Bruce was not yet ready to resort to.

So he sat, his gaze locked on Tony's form as he waited for his cue to begin his speech. The moment he stepped on the stage Tony would see him, and the choice of whether or not to engage with him would be taken out of his hands. Tony would either leave before he could say anything or he would demand his attention and possibly lead to a confrontation, there was no middle ground. Bruce steeled himself as the server tapped his shoulder, before rising out of his seat and heading out the side door to the back of the stage. This was it, it was all in Tony's hands now. Would he stay? Would he finally let him explain himself? He pushed the thoughts from his mind as he gave his speech, mentally stepping back and letting his well practiced public persona take over. It came back to him as easily as if he had never stepped out of it, which was something of a mix between a relief and a slight concern. After he finished he avoided looking in Tony's direction and headed back to his seat, waiting to see what Tony would do. When he didn't immediately leave Bruce's spirits rose slightly, and then _finally _Tony looked over at him, eyes widening to see Bruce already looking in his direction before quickly diverting his gaze. Bruce waited, but Tony didn't leave. _Success_. He thought with a smile.

It was time to act. He politely excused himself from his table before carefully making his way to Tony's table where the old woman Tony had been talking to had recently taken leave of. Taking one final steadying breath he stopped behind him and tapped his shoulder lightly.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." He said smoothly as Tony met his gaze, he looked surprised but not angry to see him. Bruce watched as several emotions flickered over his face before it finally went blank as he straightened.

"Good evening Mr. Wayne." He answered coolly, his steely gaze meeting Bruce's own.

"May I?" Bruce arched an eyebrow, gesturing to the vacated seat on Tony's left.

"By all means, be my guest." Tony's face was blank and impossible to read, but Bruce took it as a small victory that he wasn't being openly hostile.

"I trust this evening has treated you well?" Bruce remarked casually as he leaned back in his seat, watching carefully as Tony poured himself another glass of champagne.

"Oh, you know how much I enjoy these things. Thank God for the free booze." Tony rolled his eyes. "Want one?" He gestured to the champagne.

"Thank you." Bruce said with a nod, accepting the offered glass. They stared at one another for a long moment, the silence almost lasting too long before Tony broke it.

"So." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "How has Gotham been treating you? Quite well it seems." He said with a pointed look at Bruce's Armani suit.

"Well enough." Bruce agreed. "Returning from the dead was...rather less difficult than I imagined it to be."

"You got lucky then." Tony pulled a sour face. "Took me months to sort everything out after my own re-emergence, _far_ too much paperwork."

"Isn't that what personal assistants are for?" Bruce wondered with a smile.

"Touche," Tony raised his glass slightly. "I'll admit that Pepper handled most of it."

Bruce laughed, studying Tony over his glass of champagne. "It's nice to see you again." He said finally, softening his voice slightly so as not to be over heard.

Tony frowned, glancing up slowly to meet his gaze. Bruce thought for a moment that Tony would get up and leave, but the frown soon fell away to a small smile. "It is, isn't it." He said quietly. "I thought about calling, you know." He added after a moment.

"Really?" Bruce's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Why didn't you?"

Tony shrugged, swirling his glass around in his hand. "Wasn't sure if you would want to hear from me. After everything..." He trailed off as the frown returned.

Bruce leaned forward, his gaze focused as he waited for Tony to look up and meet it. "Of course I would." He said firmly.

Tony paused before slowly glancing up to Meet Bruce's gaze. They were caught for a moment, eyes locked as if under a spell before Tony finally shook his head and broke it with a chuckle. "Well that's good to know, maybe I _will_ call then."

"Please do." Bruce said seriously, catching Tony's eye once more.

Tony held his gaze this time, only glancing away as the host called for their attention once more.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," He began. "I trust you have all enjoyed this evening and I thank you once again on behalf of the CES for your contributions." Bruce tuned him out after a moment, glancing back at Tony to find him already looking his way.

"Wanna get out of here?" Tony said finally.

"Couldn't agree more." Bruce said with a grin. They waited for several minutes until the host finished, before quickly making their way outside. Tony, rather typically, already had a car waiting on the curb so it was simply a matter of bundling themselves into the backseat before anyone had a chance to take notice of them.

Bruce glanced up in surprise as Tony sidled over to him, taking the middle seat instead of the other vacant seat. "How much have you had to drink?" Bruce teased, taking in Tony's sweaty brow and rather glassy gaze.

"A little." Tony admitted. "But no where _near_ enough." He laughed, turning to the bar fridge and pulling out a bottle of scotch. "And you, my friend are _far_ too sober."

Bruce couldn't argue with that, and happily accepted the offered scotch.

An hour later and they were both more than a little drunk - Tony perhaps more so than Bruce, who was stretched on on the hotel couch as Tony poured yet another drink.

"You know, this feels a little like deja vu." Bruce commented, accepting the odd looking cocktail as Tony collapsed beside him.

"Hmm." Tony hummed. "It does, doesn't it?"

Bruce nodded, taking a sip of the orange concoction before promptly spitting it back and putting the cocktail aside. "That's disgusting."

"It's not my best." Tony admitted, screwing up his face. "Hence why I only poured one for _you_."

"Thanks." Bruce laughed, shaking his head.

Tony smiled, reaching out and stroking his hand down the side of Bruce's face. "You seem happy." He commented, stopping to yawn. "Not like last time, last time you were much serious-er."

"Serious-er?" Bruce chuckled.

"Hey." Tony whined. "Don't make fun of me, you know what I mean."

"Mmm." Bruce hummed noncommittally.

"You feel...lighter, somehow." Tony continued, shuffling a little closer to Bruce's side. "More cloud-like." He said decisively, with a nod.

"Cloud-like?" Bruce scoffed. "You really are drunk."

"Yes, yes I am." Tony agreed. "But that's okay, I'm better when I'm drunk." Bruce frowned, leaning over to ask what that meant before being cut off by Tony's hand on his mouth. "Shhh." Tony stage whispered. "Enough talking." With that he promptly leaned forward, capturing Bruce's mouth in an unexpected kiss.

Bruce was quick to return it, not wasting any time or giving Tony a chance to change his mind. He hadn't expected to be forgiven quite so quickly, but he was hardly going to complain about it. It wasn't long before they moved things to the bed, and Tony reminded Bruce exactly why he had been unable to get Tony out of his head all this time.

...

Bruce woke slowly and immediately became aware of two things - one, a loud shrill noise of some kind of alarm and two, a splitting headache. He groaned, deciding to deal with the sound first, reaching a hand out blindly as he reached for his phone. He finally found it, squinting at the screen as he blearily imputed his pass code.

"Would you turn that off already." Tony groaned from the other side of the bed, his voice rough and gravelly.

Bruce sighed as it finally stopped, glancing quickly through his phone log. He hadn't missed any important calls, but the alarm had been set to remind him that he needed to be on a plane back to Gotham in an hour.

"Sorry." He said quietly, sitting up with a yawn.

"Ugh." Tony groaned in response, rolling over to face him. "What ungodly hour is it and why are we awake?"

"It's eight in the morning Tony." Bruce rolled his eyes. "I have a flight back to Gotham in an hour."

"Oh." Tony sighed, eyes fluttering closed. "That's why _my_ assistant is better than yours. Mine isn't until tonight."

"Lucky you." Bruce sighed, rubbing his forehead. He paused, glancing back at Tony to see the other man staring at him.

"You okay?" Tony asked with a slight frown.

"Just a headache." Bruce assured him. "Nothing an aspirin won't fix. Why is it that your cocktails seem to produce the _worst _hangovers?"

"It's a talent." Tony announced proudly. They sat in silence for a long moment, Bruce unsure whether to bring up the things he was itching to talk about or not. Serious conversations and Tony Stark historically didn't mix, but he was uncomfortable with leaving before he knew where they stood.

"It was good to see you again." He said finally, deciding that was probably safe enough.

Tony nodded. "Definitely. Last night was great." He offered.

Bruce waited a moment, but when he didn't elaborate he stood quickly. "Well, I have to get going." He said, somewhat awkwardly. "Don't want to miss my flight."

Tony stared for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I'll see you."

Bruce left with a frown, not entirely sure what had happened. He had half a mind to go back and try again, but he didn't know what he would say. Last night he had felt like he had been forgiven, but now he wasn't entirely sure. "What the hell, Tony." He muttered as he hailed a cab. How was it that one man could be so damn confusing?


	3. Team Logistics

**Chapter Three: Team Logistics**

Tony could admit that he didn't always have the best judgement, especially after he had ingested copious amounts of alcohol (read: most of the time). So it was with less surprise and more resignation that he watched Bruce leave and realized he had just made another mistake. But what was the bigger mistake he wondered, letting Bruce leave like that or instigating anything with him in the first place?

Tony groaned, letting his head fall back onto the pillows as he considered the situation. He still wasn't entirely sure how he felt about Bruce, and had been stubbornly ignoring thinking about the other man for over a month now. Admittedly he was fairly sure he was no longer angry at Bruce for the whole secret identity misunderstanding, but beyond that he had no idea how he felt about him. He had regretted the way things had ended between the two since pretty much the day after it happened, and it was true that he had considered calling Bruce one or two times. However something had always stopped him before he could think of actually doing it, he just wasn't exactly sure what that was.

The whole thing had been a mess to start with, and Tony was pretty sure that he had just made it several times more complicated. He sighed, picking up his phone to check his missed calls. Two from Pepper, that wasn't good, three from Fury, also not good. He scrolled down his contacts to find Pepper's name, pausing as he saw an unfamiliar one in the 'S' column.

_Shay - 755-0590_

_Shay_, Tony thought to himself before the memory of the gorgeous blonde came flooding back to him. "Shay!" He muttered. He had meant to text her an apology for the previous night but had forgotten that morning. _Better late than never_. He thought to himself as he selected her name.

_Sorry about the other night_, He texted quickly, pausing before adding _It's not you, it's me. If you're ever in New York, we should get coffee. Tony Stark._

After hitting send he continued down to Pepper's name, selecting it and holding the phone to his ear.

"Tony," She greeted. "How's the hangover?"

"Ugh." Tony groaned. "Don't remind me. What is it?"

"Nick's been trying to get in contact. Not urgent but he said to tell you to call him back. Something about team logistics." She informed him, sounded cheerful.

"Team logistics?" Tony frowned. "Shouldn't he be calling the Cap then? Unless...are the others finally coming back to the tower?"

"I don't know, Tony. You'll have to ask him. Don't be late for the jet tonight, Steve wants to continue the Sunday movie night tradition." Pepper cautioned.

"Can it be a tradition if it's only happened once?" Tony grimaced. "Whatever, I'll be there. Later Pep."

After hanging up he decided to bite the bullet and call Fury back, before he sent a search party as he was sometimes known to do. "What is it?" He sighed as Fury answered the phone.

"Stark, always a pleasure." Fury grumbled. "Romanov and Barton have completed their mission and will be back at the tower tonight. I trust that won't be a problem?"

"No problemo." Tony sighed. "Send 'em over, just in time for movie night - Cap will be thrilled."

Fury merely grunted before hanging up on Tony. Tony frowned at his phone, before noticing that the new message icon was lit up.

_It's fine, you seemed to have a lot on your mind. Funnily enough I live in New York, I'll hold you to that. ~Shay_

Tony smiled slightly, glad she had forgiven him - maybe he still had a chance if he played his cards right.

_I feel like a fool to have failed to recognize a fellow New Yorker, this changes everything. Do you know the Bluebird on 1st?_

He only had to wait a few minutes for an answer as his phone dinged just after he finished getting dressed.

_I only just moved here from Chicago, so you're off the hook. I know the one, I'm off work at 5 tomorrow._

Tony smiled as he hit reply. _It's a date ;)_

With little else to do until his flight he made his way down to the hotel bar, after all the best cure for a hangover in his book was more alcohol.

...

As was promised, the Black Widow and Hawkeye arrived shortly after Tony got back to the tower, just in time to interrupt the heated debate that had gotten under way as he and Steve tried to choose a movie.

Steve was stubbornly championing a forties classic, whilst Tony argued that he needed to broaden his horizons and properly experience the twenty-first century by watching something more recent.

"You'll dig the special effects, it'll be just like magic." Tony assured him as he waved around a scifi DVD.

"I vote for Casablanca!" Clint announced as he entered, Nat close on his heels.

"Well Bruce agrees with _me_." Tony snapped, gesturing to where Banner sat quietly on the couch, raising his hands in an 'I'm not involved' kind of way.

"And Nat agrees with me, so you're out voted." Clint smirked, nudging Natasha beside him.

Tony turned his fierce glare towards Natasha, slumping in defeat at the glint in her eye. "Sure, I love the classics." She agreed, taking a seat next to Banner.

Tony sighed, glancing between them. "Well this is hardly fair." He whined loudly. "Thor would be on my side, he loves special effects. That's why he's my favorite Avenger."

"Since Thor isn't here," Steve reminded him, standing up and brandishing the winning DVD. "It's three to two, suck it up Tony."

Tony pouted heavily as he collapsed onto the empty couch, cradling a bottle of scotch in his arms. He had already worked his way through half of it on the plane, and would more than likely be finishing it before the night was through.

"_More_ scotch Tony?" Steve questioned, rolling out the full Steve-is-disappointed-in-Tony's-life-choices experience, complete with a condescending tone and concerned glance.

"Problem?" Tony raised his eyebrows, daring the Captain to continue his line of questioning.

Steve sighed but shook his head, turning back to the movie. "That's what I thought." Tony muttered darkly.

The rest of the movie continued in much the same fashion, Tony disappearing into his lab as soon as the credits started rolling. Tony spent the rest of the night working on the Mark 42, which he now had official Pepper permission to continue now that the CES expo was done and dusted. While he did finish the bottle of scotch it wasn't enough to completely incapacitate him, and so he worked through the night and the following day only emerging an hour before he was supposed to meet Shay.

He showered quickly before making his way to the coffee shop, smirking as he saw the beautiful blonde already seated outside the cafe.

"Well hello there Miss Mysterious," Tony greeted as he slid into the open chair across from her. "I'll admit it, I calculated that there was about a seventy percent chance that you would stand me up. I'm glad to see the odds were in my favor." He joked as she glanced up from her phone.

"Hello again Mr. Stark." She smiled, putting her phone in her bag.

"Oh please, call me Tony." Tony corrected smoothly before turning to the waitress who was approaching their table. "One of your strongest blacks and a..." He paused, glancing over at his companion. "Chai latte?" He tried, raising an eyebrow.

"That'll work." She nodded with a small smile.

"I've been told I'm an excellent coffee predictor." Tony smirked. "One of my many talents."

"Good to know." Shay shook her head with a soft laugh. "Does that come in useful very often?"

"You would be surprised," Tony winked. "Thank you for not standing me up, by the way."

"No problem. I am a little curious as to why you wanted to meet in the first place," She paused for a moment. "Especially given the other night." She finished with a frown.

"Yes." Tony cleared his throat, with a quick glance around. "Well, I did want to apologize about that. I really was quite drunk."

Shay shook her head slightly before glancing up slowly to meet his eyes. Tony was surprised to see an apologetic look rather than the insulted or annoyed one he had expected. "Look, I should first say - if you've had second thoughts and were hoping to...you know, get back in for a hook up?" She paused, and Tony frowned somewhat guiltily. "I thought so." She snorted and shook her head. "I'm sorry. The other night was a mistake on my part too, I had also had a little too much and I shouldn't have come on to you."

"What?" Tony frowned. "Why not?"

"You're not exactly my type." She said finally.

"Come on," Tony whined. "I'm everyone's type."

"I'm a lesbian." Tony's eyes widened - he hadn't been expecting that. "I had a bad break up a few weeks back which is part of the reason I left Chicago. I was kind of going through something, I thought maybe I could start fresh and _not_ be gay...I don't really know, and then I was drunk in Vegas and you were there and it suddenly seemed like a really good idea. It was stupid, I'm definitely not straight, and I'm sorry. I was sort of using you, and it was wrong. When you...well, had a hard time it hit me that it was probably a bad idea anyway." She finished finally, staring intently at the table.

"Wow." Tony leaned back in his chair slightly. "That's...interesting." He said finally.

"Yeah." Her face closed off suddenly. "Anyway, I'll just go." She made to get up, but Tony threw out his hand to stop her.

"Wait." He said quickly. "So maybe I _was_ trying to hook up," he winced slightly. "But there's no reason we can't be friends, is there?"

"You're...okay with this?" She frowned, motioning to herself briefly.

"You mean, you being a lesbian? Of course." Tony waved his hand. "I _love_ lesbians." He grinned widely, giving her a wink.

"Oh, come on." She shoved him on the shoulder before sitting down. "Grow up!"

"Sorry, sorry." He held his hands up in apology. "Really though, I understand. I have a...somewhat similar situation myself." He grimaced.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe."

"Well..." He sighed. "Sort of. I mean, I've always been pretty open minded - guys, girls, whatever. I've mainly been with girls, but I've had my fair share of guys too. I had a serious girlfriend for a while there, but she broke up with me a while ago, so then I had this _thing_ with this guy." He frowned as he thought about it, shaking his head. "It ended, not overly well. I blamed him at the time but it was probably more than a little my fault too. Anyway. I saw him again recently and I thought I would still be angry with him, but it went surprisingly well and well...we hooked up again, but he left afterwards and now I have no idea what's going on." He finished in a rush, glancing over to see Shay paying careful attention with a small frown.

"Did you talk to him about it? before, or after you hooked up?" Shay asked finally.

"Nope." Tony sighed. "I don't really do the whole, talking about relationships thing. It's kind of what got us in this mess in the first place."

"Well, you are now." Shay pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "What's so different about talking to him?" Tony shrugged petulantly, not having an answer. "Well, I think you definitely need to talk about it. Especially if that _is_ what caused problems between you the first time."

"Hmm." Tony frowned. "I don't know about that."

"Ignore it if you want," Shay shrugged. "But don't come crying to me when this all goes south for you for a second time. If there's one thing I've learned from a _lot_ of failed relationships, it's that communication is important." She sighed.

"Key word being _failed_," Tony pointed out. "So maybe you're not the best person to be taking advice from." He joked.

"Maybe not." She agreed with a smile. "But hey, seems like I'm the only advice giver you've got."

She wasn't wrong, Tony thought with a sigh. The Avengers tower might be full again, but somehow Tony didn't think that would change anything. It may even make things worse, if his one interaction with the group so far was anything to go by.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before their drinks finally arrived. "So my roommate had a lot to say about you." She began as they sipped their coffees.

"Oh really? All bad I presume." Tony scoffed.

"No, actually. She had nothing but praise for you and the other Avengers. I'll admit it all sounds a bit strange though, we don't have superheroes in Chicago." She replied with a laugh. "Or at least, I don't think we do."

"You're right actually, there _are_ no super heroes in Chicago. How ever did you manage?" He quipped.

"I have no idea, luckily no super villain has taken an interest yet or we might have been in trouble. Is it really fair that New York get's all six Avengers and we get none?" She wondered with a grin.

"Ah but New York is like the breeding ground for super villains, we simply have a greater demand than you do. I'll tell you what, if Chicago ever gets it's own super villain then I'll give you an Avenger or two. I know just the ones I'd like to get rid of." Tony offered.

"How generous of you." Shay said dryly. "I had better go anyway, I'm on the early shift tomorrow."

"Oh that's right, paramedic right?" Tony asked as they stood up.

"I'm surprised you remember." Shay laughed. "You _were_ calling me Sharon at that point in the conversation."

"In my defense, Shay is a strange name." Tony said quickly.

"Well, it's my last name." She admitted. "My first name is Leslie, but no one uses that."

"Leslie." Tony laughed. "Leslie the Lesbian, I like it."

"_Please_ don't call me Leslie." Shay shook her head. "I'll see you around, I'm sure. Make sure you talk to that guy." She reminded him as she waved down a cab.

"Yeah." Tony shrugged noncommittally. "We'll see."

...

The next few weeks found Tony falling into a cycle of working non stop on the new suit designs for days in a row, only emerging for the occasional sandwich and a few hours of sleep here and there. Banner had been there for the first few days, but he had quickly began to use the secondary lab after Tony's temper got the best of him a few times. He was in one of those single minded moods where nothing mattered but the task at hand, and Banner had been distracting. It was extremely effective in avoiding thinking about anything Bruce Wayne related, and also extremely conducive to his work - the Mark 42 was getting extremely close to physical testing stages.

"We're so close Jarvis!" He announced finally to his empty lab. He frowned when no response came, before remembering he had muted Jarvis earlier after the AI had continued to distract him by announcing Captain Roger's attempts to get his attention. "Right, sorry J. Unmute."

"Thank you, Sir." Jarvis replied, his tone bland. "Captain Rogers is still outside, it seems he is waiting for you to leave the lab."

Tony groaned, glancing back at the glass door where Steve could indeed be seen loitering outside. "Just send him in, may as well get this over with." He sighed.

The doors opened with a hiss, admitting the extremely annoyed looking Captain America. "Tony." His tone was full of reproach. "You've been down here for ten days, you've missed two team meetings and all the scheduled team training sessions."

Tony rolled his eyes, turning back to his screen. "Oh, team training, how could I forget." He muttered, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

Steve scowled, stepping forward until he was properly inside the lab. "You are a part of this team, whether you or anyone else likes it or not." He snapped. "We would appreciate it if you at least made an effort to be involved."

"Can't we just skip this part and skip straight to the end, where you _leave_?" Tony wondered, swinging around on his chair.

Steve was starting to quickly transition from annoyed to furious, his face beginning to redden. "You said you were going to make an effort!" He growled angrily. "You stuck to it for all of a few weeks before going back to _this!_" He motioned to an empty bottle of scotch lying on the floor. "Ignoring the team, drinking yourself to an early grave and spending your days alone in your lab." He shook his head. "If Pepper were here she would never have let it get this far."

"Get out." Tony snapped. "I'm not kidding, get the fuck out of my lab before I decide to kick you out of the whole _tower. _Don't forget who owns this place."

"You and your arrogant, self righteous attitude...when are you going to learn that the person losing out here is you." Steve shook his head once more and turned to leave, before glancing back. "I don't know what Fury was thinking, putting you on this team. Sure, you can play nice in the short term but when it comes down to it you're just not a team player, are you Tony. The sad part is I think you _want_ to be one of us, you just keep getting in your own damn way." With that last comment he left, the doors closing with a resounding click.

Tony sighed and shook his head, banging his head on his desk. "I need to get out of this place." He groaned loudly. "I hate this god damn tower."

_**A/N: Sorry for the wait on this, I had actually forgotten to upload it here. I tend to upload on AO3 first just FYI and I occasionally forget about FFN. Thanks for all feedback, should be more soon x**_


	4. Breathe Slowly

**Chapter Four: Breathe Slowly**

One thing Bruce hadn't anticipated about his life after Batman was the sheer boredom that normal, everyday life seemed to come with. With his nights no longer taken up by crime fighting and his days no longer spent sleeping he suddenly found himself with a lot more time on his hands than he had ever had before. He made a habit of attending as many board meetings as he could now that Wayne Enterprises had started branching out a bit further, but there were only so many meetings and he already had people on staff to run most of the day to day workings of the company.

Since returning to Gotham he no longer bothered with the overdone billionaire persona he had used to show the public, and therefore as a rule he stayed away from most of the events he would have attended in the past. Instead he found himself looking for other ways to fill his time, one of which had become frequent meetings with both Blake and Gordon. Blake had been the first to approach him, knocking nervously on his door one morning and mumbling apologies for disturbing him.

"Come in, John." Bruce had said with a smile, not minding the interruption seeing as he hadn't really been doing anything anyway.

"I'm sorry to disturb you...I wasn't sure if I should come to you at all - I know you are finished with being Batman…" John had swallowed nervously before continuing carefully. "I just needed some help with something, it's about the Joker and I know you've dealt with him a bunch of times before…"

"Not to worry, I don't mind at all." Bruce assured him. "What has that God damned clown done now?"

After the first time Bruce encouraged John to come to him for any advice, who readily accepted his offer. He knew being the City's sole hero was a lot on the young man's shoulders, and it seemed he was feeling a little in over his head. After that John would visit him a few times a week, initially just with questions about cases but eventually he had started coming just to chat sometimes too. Bruce wouldn't openly admit it to anyone but he quite liked talking to the endearing young hero and saw a lot of himself in John Blake.

Gordon had been another matter entirely - concerned about the outcome of a case Blake had mentioned, Bruce had one day decided to pay a visit to the MCU. Gordon had looked a little surprised to see Bruce there, but had ushered him into his office and filled him in on the details of the case. While Bruce hadn't gotten directly involved, he'd had some valuable insight that had helped Gordon with the case. After that Gordon had asked if he would mind consulting on the side occasionally on some of the more interesting cases. Bruce had accepted of course, with almost nothing else to do, and so he had started meeting Gordon twice a week in his office to discuss cases.

It wasn't the same as being Batman, but it helped Bruce feel a little less useless and it went towards scratching the insatiable itch that had plagued him since he had given up Batman completely.

A few weeks after he had returned from Vegas, Bruce found himself sitting aimlessly in Gordon's office alternating between watching the older man work and staring out the window at the traffic. They had already gone over the current case, but Bruce had decided to hang around as he sometimes did, not liking the thought of returning to his house and the ever present boredom that never seemed to completely go away.

"You alright Bruce?" Gordon asked finally, peering carefully over his glasses.

"Hmm?" Bruce glanced up, having almost forgotten Jim was there. "Oh, yes I'm fine."

Gordon raised an eyebrow before glancing back at his computer screen. "If you say so."

Bruce sighed, stretching out as he stared out the window. "Just bored I suppose. Feels like there's never anything constructive to do these days."

"Hmm." Jim nodded. "That's what happens when you give up your life's work." He agreed. "Why do you think I never stayed retired?"

"I thought I would enjoy the downtime." Bruce admitted. "I didn't think it would be quite so dull."

"Maybe you need a new hobby." Gordon suggested as he typed on his keyboard. "Or take a vacation, God knows you can afford it."

"Where would I go?" Bruce mused. "Hawaii? I've never been much of a surfer."

Jim laughed with a shrug. "How would I know? I've never taken a vacation." Bruce frowned at the other man, shaking his head.

"Of course you haven't." He said with a laugh, before sighing as his smile fell. Of course Jim Gordon, Police Commissioner of Gotham had never taken a vacation - he was a dedicated man who was needed by his City on a daily basis. Bruce felt a slight twang in his chest as the familiar itch returned, accompanied by the strong feeling that he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing.

"I should go." He said finally, suddenly feeling like he didn't want to be in the office anymore. "I'll see you next week."

"Take care, Bruce." Gordon told him with a long glance, concern still present in his eyes.  
>Half an hour later Bruce was unlocking his door, having stopped for a quick lunch on the way. He walked into the main room to put down his briefcase, only to stop at the sight of a man stretched out languidly on his couch.<p>

It was Tony - of _course_ it was, only Tony would turn up completely unannounced and let himself in.

"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked with a frown as the other man turned to face him, a slow grin forming on his face.

"Oh come on Brucie, aren't you happy to see me?" Tony quipped, sitting up quickly and placing his feet on the floor.

Bruce frowned and crossed his arms, glancing around for his butler. "Did Alfred let you in?"

"Nah." Tony waved his hand flippantly. "I had Jarvis crack your security code, sorry not sorry. It was ridiculously easy, you should really fix that. I mean come on, 27823? Anyone with a nineties nokia who knows how to text could figure that out."

Bruce rubbed his temple as he slid into an armchair, already feeling a headache coming on. "Why are you here, Tony?" He asked finally, hoping for a serious answer.

Tony shrugged, seeming unwilling to comply. "Was in the area, had a bit of time off from being a superhero _and_ a CEO of a major corporation, you know how it is."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, shaking his head slightly. Tony might have been acting particularly obstinate, but he wasn't as casual as he liked to think he was - there was clearly something on his mind, and Bruce knew there was more going on with the other man than he liked to let show. Tony wasn't a man that you pushed for answers, however, unless you wanted him to shut down on you completely.

"If you say so, Tony." Bruce said with a sigh, not pressing the issue. "How's that new suit coming along?" He asked, remembering Tony talking about the Mark 42 in Vegas.

"Great!" Tony's eyes lit up as he began to talk animatedly about the progress of the suit. That topic kept him occupied for quite a while, until he finally fell silent as he stared at the floor somewhat absently.

"You okay, Tony?" He asked carefully after a long silence elapsed between them.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Tony snapped quickly, his gaze meeting Bruce's finally. While Bruce definitely saw some open hostility in the gaze, there was also a layer of vulnerability. _I don't want to talk about it._ He may has well have shouted it across the room, it came across so clearly.  
>"Okay." He said finally before changing the topic. They talked about various things for several hours, getting comfortable on the couch as the sun set outside the window. Eventually Bruce had Alfred bring them some dinner while the two watched an old sci-fi movie, Tony commenting almost nonstop about the different aspects of the movie. "Did you see that CGI, man I can't believe that was considered prime in it's day." "Did you know that's actually completely possible now? You know what they say about science fiction being a precursor to science fact…" "Oh yeah, he totally bangs her. Didn't see that coming the first time."<p>

Bruce found himself smiling slightly, the movie fading into the background as he listened to Tony ramble about the likely specifications of the star ship. It felt almost like old times when they would lie together on the couch marathoning the old Star Wars movies at Tony's tower in New York, Tony had talked non stop through those movies too. Instead of finding it annoying as some people would, Bruce found it oddly endearing. It was like the other man's mind was so busy all the time he couldn't turn it off enough to just sit back and enjoy the movie, he was always switched on and thinking. He had done it tentatively and sporadically at first, always looking at Bruce like he expected him to ask him to stop as Bruce imagined others probably did, but when he never raised any protests Tony had quickly realized he actually didn't mind and continued his running commentary.

Bruce's smile fell slightly as his mind drifted towards how their time in New York had ended, with them fighting it out on top of a skyscraper because of Bruce's dishonesty. He had broken Tony's trust, and ruined everything they had had between them. Could they ever get it back? After everything was said and done could it ever be the same, easy friendship they had had before?

Bruce glanced over as he realized Tony had fallen silent, only to see him staring back at him.

"What are you thinking about?" Tony stage whispered, smirking slightly.

"You." Bruce answered honestly, meeting his searching gaze. Their eyes locked for a moment before Tony smiled slowly, leaning forward.

"Good." He whispered, before closing the gap between them. Before Bruce could properly react Tony's lips were on his, somehow soft but demanding at the same time, which really was a perfect analogy for Tony if Bruce thought about it.

He forced himself to stop thinking, instead leaning in to the kiss and pushing Tony back on the the couch slightly. Tony tasted different this time, and it took Bruce to realize it was the absence of alcohol that he was noticing. Had Tony really been drinking every time they had done this in the past? Thinking back Bruce decided that _yes_, he probably had. It was mildly concerning, but Bruce didn't have long to think about it before Tony was making him forget as he carefully removed his shirt.

"Let's take this upstairs." Bruce whispered breathlessly as he sat up slowly. "Don't want Alfred walking in."

Tony laughed but nodded, grabbing Bruce's hand and pulling him quickly to the staircase. "You're right, what I'm about to do to you Alfred _definitely_ doesn't want to see."

…

Afterwards Bruce lay silently in bed, staring at the ceiling as he listened to Tony's even breathing beside him. Tony had fallen asleep quite quickly, which was unsurprising considering how tired the other man had looked. His face had been marked with deep bags under his eyes, he looked like he hadn't slept properly in weeks. Bruce had wanted to ask him again if he was okay, but had refrained knowing that it wouldn't be taken well. Looking at him now it was plain to see that something was wrong, he had lost weight and probably hadn't been eating as well as sleeping, knowing Tony.

He rolled onto his side, facing Tony and carefully studying his sleeping form. He was frowning even in sleep, his forehead creased with some unknown worry. He was sweating slightly and moving every now and then, his eyes moving rapidly behind his eyelids. Bruce closed his eyes as he wondered what he was dreaming about, eventually drifting off to sleep.

A loud gasp woke him several hours later, causing him to jerk upwards as his eyes snapped open. He blinked quickly as his eyes adjusted, frowning as he saw Tony sitting bolt upright next to him, the arc reactor glowing in the darkness.

His skin was pale as he breathed quickly, his breath coming out in short gasps and his eyes glazed, looking at something only he could see.

"Tony!" Bruce touched his shoulder softly, not wanting to startle him. "Are you alright?"

Tony didn't answer, continuing to stare at the wall as he began to hyperventilate, his shoulders beginning to shake. "Tony?" He asked once more, stroking his arm slowly.

Suddenly Tony blinked, tearing his wide gaze away from the wall and meeting Bruce's concerned stare. "What…?" He gasped, his hand resting on his chest.

"Calm down, Tony. Breathe slowly." Bruce instructed calmly, stroking his shoulder softly. "It's okay."

"What is this?" He gasped once more, his breath still coming much too fast.

"I think you're having a panic attack, just try to calm down and breathe slowly." Bruce said, peering into Tony's wide, confused eyes.

"Calm down, that's right." He murmured as Tony drew in a deep breath, slowing his respirations slightly. Finally after a long minute he collapsed back onto the bed, his hand still rubbing his chest.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked finally, his concerned gaze absently checking Tony for any obvious injuries.

Tony simply nodded, his face still very pale.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bruce offered softly, expecting Tony's usual shutdown. It didn't come however, and instead of closing off as he usually did, Tony stayed silent for a moment before answering slowly.

"I...I dream about New York. About falling." He said finally. "Happens sometimes, but never….like that."

"Flashbacks?" Bruce asked with a frown, knowing the battle of New York had been many months ago. "You've had them all this time?"

Tony shrugged noncommittally. "On and off, but sometimes...yeah."

Bruce frowned and shook his head. "I wish you would have told me, Tony."

"So you could do _what_?" Tony snapped, his expression closing off. "It's none of your business." He turned away, rolling over to face the wall and clearly closing the conversation topic.

"Alright Tony." Bruce sighed. "But I'm here if you want to talk…" Tony didn't answer, and so Bruce too rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. He wasn't successful, and from his uneven breathing it was clear that Tony wasn't either.

…

The next morning was about as awkward as Bruce had suspected it would be. After his emotional night, Tony was snappier and less pleasant than usual and seemed to have very little interest in talking to Bruce at all. Bruce should have known, he had pushed too far and now Tony was reacting exactly as he always did.

However he had still _stayed_ and hadn't left in the middle of the night, which Bruce was counting as a small victory even if they _were_ currently ignoring each other over toast and cereal.

"How long are you going to keep this up for?" Bruce asked finally, putting the newspaper down to glance at the rather sullen looking Tony.

"As long as I like." Tony snapped, but without any real malice.

Bruce sighed, finally deciding on a peace offering. "I suppose I'll just watch _The Wrath of Khan_ on my own then…" He trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Tony.

He took the bait. "Like you could follow the plot without me explaining it to you." Tony scoffed, rolling his eyebrows.

_Success_. Bruce hid a grin, pretending to be offended. "I do just fine on my own, as you well know." He said, following Tony to the TV.

Things were more normal after that as they spent the morning watching movies, though they carefully avoided any topic of conversation that could be considered serious. Bruce knew Tony was embarrassed and that his pride had been damaged, so he went along with it even if he didn't entirely agree with it.

It was several hours before they were interrupted, by the shrill ring of Tony's phone.

Tony ignored it, but sighed and made to get up anyway. "That'll be Pepper. I have a meeting this afternoon." He said, sounding slightly apologetic.

"Okay." Bruce said simply, stretching out his cramped limbs.

"I'll call you." Tony said finally, not meeting his gaze.

"Okay." Bruce said once again, watching him turn to leave.

"Bruce?" Tony paused at the door, not looking back. "Thanks." He muttered, almost too soft for Bruce to hear.

Bruce just nodded slightly, smiling once he heard the door close. Maybe they _were _making some progress after all.


	5. That's Progress

**Chapter Five: That's Progress**

Tony spent the week after his Gotham visit in his Malibu mansion, ironing out the final hiccups in the Mark 42 suit. He hadn't returned to the Avengers Tower after his meeting in New York, instead deciding to hide out in Malibu until he felt more inclined to face Steve's, probably by now much increased, wrath - so probably not for a while then.

He knew deep down that he was being a little petty, but that didn't make his anger at the team leader subside. He refused to be told what he could and couldn't do in his own tower, God Damnit. Steve deserved it for being an insufferable asshole, honestly. Tony didn't know how the others could stand him, let alone _like_ him as much as they all seemed to.

So instead he threw himself into his work once more, finally getting the new armor to the first testing stages. With Dummy on hand with a fire extinguisher and Jarvis' continuous warnings he finally went ahead and tested the Mark 42, finding it surprisingly functional. Well, _almost_functional. It was close anyway, and that was good enough for him.

His week of solid work was unfortunately interrupted by the Mandarin's broadcast, which as much as he pretended it didn't affect him did set him on edge a little. It also did get him out of his mansion for a day, even if his meeting with Rhodey and subsequent slight...episode (Bruce would probably call it a flashback, but he would be _wrong_) didn't go exactly as planned.

After his minor freak out (Anxiety attack, as Jarvis had so nicely put it) he flew straight back to the mansion, collapsing onto the couch with a well deserved scotch. He sat for a minute and tried to relax, his breathing was still just a little shorter than he was used to and his heart was still thumping a little in his ears. After a few moments he found his eyelids drooping and wondered if he might actually be able to get some sleep for once, before immediately jerking awake as his phone beeped next to him.

He sighed and opened his eyes slowly, picking up his phone whilst silently praying it wasn't Pepper - he was in luck, it was Shay and that was _so _much better than being hounded about some missed meeting or other while he had been AWOL in Malibu for the last week.

_Up for a coffee date? I'm off shift all weekend. ~S_

Tony smiled slightly as he read, he and Shay had been meeting up somewhat regularly since their first meeting having hit it off quite unexpectedly. Once they got all the awkward apologies and I-don't-want-to-sleep-with-you's out of the way he had found Shay surprisingly interesting and easy to talk to.

_Can't, not in NY remember? Unless you can do coffee in Malibu, in which case I'd be totally up for that. In fact, why not just stay the whole weekend? I'm sure I could keep you entertained._

He sat back as he waited for a reply, hoping she would agree. With the Mark 42 now almost complete he could use a bit of a distraction, even if there was no chance at all that she would sleep with him. Shay was a fast texter, and it was less than a minute before his phone beeped once more.

_I don't know Tony that's a 5 hour flight :(_

Tony chuckled softly as he replied.

_My jet could get you there in under 4, just say the word._

Tony had enough time to pour himself another scotch before the reply came.

_Of course it could. Alright then, I'll bring some bagels from that place you like, you must be missing them by now._

Tony fist pumped mentally as he read it, it was true he _had_ been missing his favorite New York bagels.

_You truly are my soul mate. I'll tell my guys to have the jet there in half an hour._

He spent the five hours before Shay was due to arrive napping in front of the TV, drifting in and out of consciousness but never really falling into a restful sleep. He finally jerked into complete wakefulness as Jarvis announced the jets' arrival, standing up blearily to greet her.

"Tony!" She called with a wide smile, pulling him into a quick hug. It had been almost two weeks since he had seen her, and he had quickly learnt that Shay was an affectionate type.

"_Leslie_," He taunted teasingly, pulling her onto the couch as he collapsed back onto it.

"Don't," She warned, slapping his shoulder lightly. "Here's your bagels," she shoved the paper bag into his hands as she jumped up to get the TV remote. "You mind if I put ESPN on? The Blackhawks are playing the Blues tonight."

"Sure." Tony shrugged noncommittally as he pulled out a bagel. He wasn't much of a sports fan, but he had quickly learnt never to get between a Chicago native and their Blackhawks games.

They sat in relative silence for the first half hour, Shay shushing him every time he tried to make any conversation while the game was on. It wasn't until the break after the first period ended that she finally turned towards him, raising an eyebrow in silent permission for him to start talking.

He frowned in bemusement at her, silently wondering why he let her get away with it. "Oh, I'm allowed to talk now am I?" He scoffed. "Well maybe I don't want to talk anymore." He muttered, crossing his arms childishly.

"Oh, get over it." She rolled her eyes. "Now tell me how it went with Bruce, I'm still waiting to hear how your Gotham visit went down."

Tony sighed, turning away slightly with a shrug. "It...went."

"And?" She prompted, leaning forward in interest.

"Well I suppose it went better than the previous time." Tony admitted. "We talked a little." They hadn't _really_, not in the way she had wanted him to anyway, but she didn't need to know that.

"That's progress." She said with encouragement. "Have you called him since?"

Tony paused, looking a little guilty. "Well…"

"Tony!" She admonished, swatting him on the arm. "Why not?"

Tony shrugged, glancing away once more. Did he mention how much he hated these kinds of conversations? "Didn't know what to say."

Shay sighed, shaking her head. "Will you at least text him? Please?"

"And say what?" Tony frowned.

"I don't know, say hi, how's your week been. Say _anything_!" She urged, passing him his phone.

Tony raised an eyebrow taking the phone grudgingly. "I'm blaming you if this goes bad." He warned as he scrolled through the numbers to find the one he hadn't used in a long time, since Bruce had left New York.

Shay watched for a moment before turning back to the TV as the second period started, once again fully engrossed in the game. Tony stared at the screen for several moments, not sure what to say.

_Hi Bruce, It's Tony. How's it going?_

No way, he wasn't sending that.

_Bruce, sorry I didn't call. It's Tony._

No, did he need to say who it was? Wouldn't Bruce still have his number saved? Tony wasn't sure.

_Brucie! What's been going on?_

No, that wasn't right either. He sighed heavily, feeling like throwing the phone across the room in frustration. Finally he forced out a short text, hitting send before he could deliberate any further.

_Hi. -T_

He scoffed, casting his phone away from him. It was hardly a soliloquy, but he supposed it would have to do. He attempted to watch the game for the next hour, but found it just about as uninteresting as he had always found hockey. It was actually almost sending him to sleep, which was definitely a good thing he decided - if it wasn't for Shay's interruptions every few minutes he might have actually succeeded in falling asleep.

"Yes! Kaner's got it, he's got it!" She shouted enthusiastically, almost jumping off the couch in her excitement only to slump back down a moment later. "Fucking Elliott stopped it again, looks like they're going into overtime." She grumbled, looking unimpressed.

Tony glanced up and saw that the scores were tied at 0 all at the end of the third, which apparently meant that they would play for longer. "Not_more_. How much longer does this game go for?" He groaned.

"Yep." Shay sighed, leaning back. "They go into over time until someone scores. Which could be a while, Elliott and Crawford are on _fire_ tonight."

Tony frowned and leaned further into the couch, closing his eyes once more. This time he actually drifted off for a little while, only waking about half an hour later at Shay's enthusiastic woop.

"Yes! Sharpy you legend! He's done it!" She cried, leaping off the couch. "Blackhawks win!"

"Congratulations." Tony said dryly, "can we go to bed now?"

Shay paused, glancing over at him before frowning slightly. "Wow, you _do_ look tired. When was the last time you slept?" Properly? Since his night in Gotham the week before, but Tony wasn't about to admit that.

Instead he just shrugged and motioned to the stairs. "Wanna join me? I could do with a cuddle." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively. "I'll keep it PG though, I promise."

"Like that's even possible for you." She scoffed, but followed him anyway.

They quickly got comfortable in his huge king bed, Shay lying close to his back without being too close for comfort. Tony smiled in appreciation, she always seemed to know exactly what he needed and how much of it.

"Thanks for this." He whispered finally, not sure if she was still awake or not. Since New York and Pepper leaving him nights had been the hardest, and something about having someone there made it just that much easier for him to sleep. He drifted into sleep with a rare smile, hoping he would finally get some rest.

…

He woke with a jerk to the feeling of being violently shaken, a loud voice in his ear.

"Tony!" Shay was calling loudly, fear evident in her shaky tone.

His eyes snapped open to see Shay sitting over him grabbing his shoulder, as his Mark 42 autonomous suit stood looming over her with a repulsor aimed and ready to fire.

"Shit!" He cursed before snapping "Power down!" and waving his hand as he mentally ordered the technology to dissemble. It fell to pieces with a thunk on the floor, leaving them both staring wide eyed at the pile of metal. "I'm so sorry, I must have called it in my sleep." He grunted, a hand falling to his chest as his heart hammered. He realized quickly that he was hyperventilating again, sweat running freely down his face.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Shay assured him. "Are _you_ okay?"

He nodded quickly, lying back as he tried to get his breathing under control. "I'm fine." He bit out with a grimace. "Just a...thing that happens sometimes." He glanced over to see her still sitting up, pale and trembling slightly. "I really am sorry." He said softly. "That should never have happened."

She nodded slowly, swallowing slightly. "It's okay." She said once more. "I don't think it was going to hurt me, it just sort of stood there after you started crying out." Tony flinched slightly at the wording, _crying out_ sounded so...ugh. "What's going on, Tony?" She asked, meeting his gaze with her concerned one. "You're obviously _not_ okay. What was that?"

Tony stayed silent, staring at the ceiling as he slowed his breathing to a more normal rate. "It's nothing...I'm dealing with it." He said finally.

She gave him a long look before turning to lie on her side to face him, resting her face on her arm. "You can tell me, Tony...I know what a panic attack looks like. I just need to you tell me _why_."

He met her gaze for a long moment before answering. "It's New York. The invasion. I told you, I'm dealing with it."

She frowned, turning away slightly. "That makes sense I guess." She said softly before glancing over once more. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it." She offered. "Believe it or not I _do_ have some experience with panic attacks. I actually…" She trailed off slightly and swallowed once before continuing. "I've sort of just gone through it myself."

Tony raised an eyebrow, silently urging her to continue. "It's why I left Chicago." She admitted, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling. "I know I said it was a breakup, and that _was_ part of it…" She shook her head. "Well that part was first. Devon, she screwed me up a little but Kelly…" She stopped, blinking quickly as she started to fight tears. Tony took her hand carefully, running his fingers over her palm soothingly as she continued. "Kelly was what really made me leave. I told you I used to work at a firehouse, right?"

Tony nodded in confirmation. "Right. Well one of the guys there, Kelly Severide, he was a lieutenant on rescue squad. He was my best friend, we were like soul mates. We always said if I wasn't gay then we would be destined for each other, and I really think it would have been true. Sometimes I wish it _had_ been true." She stopped as her voice cracked slightly. "We just _got_ each other. We hardly even had to say anything, we just knew, you know? Anyway. We got a call to a shop fire, me and Dawson - my partner, we had to go in. It looked contained but it all went to hell, our radios went down and then the whole place went up. We were lucky to get out at all, I was knocked unconscious and then a week later I woke up in hospital and they told me…" She stopped, shaking her head as a tear finally escaped and rolled it's way down her face. "They told me that Severide didn't make it. He...he missed a kid the week before, he'd been beating himself up over it, so he went in further than he should have. With the radio fucking up he didn't hear the call to get out I guess, and...well, he never made it out. I'm almost glad I wasn't conscious to see it, I had flashbacks about that fire for weeks afterwards and I didn't even see it happen to him. Casey, Casey was there he…" She broke off, choking back a sob. "It would have been awful. I don't think I'll ever _really_ be over it, but it's gotten a lot better. I'll never work at another firehouse again, I think hospital EMT is it for me now. But my point was...it gets easier. I promise. But you _do_ have to talk about it, bottling it up inside only makes it worse." She finished, wiping away the tears that were still sliding down her face.

"I'm sorry," she gestured to the tears as she shook her head. "I guess I'm still a little emotional about it all…" Tony stared at her for a moment before pulling her into a strong hug, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered as she buried her face into his neck. "I'm so sorry that you went through that."

"It's okay." She said, pulling away. "I'm okay now, and you will be too. I promise."

"Thank you." Tony whispered, for once truly meaning it. "Since Pepper left, I haven't really...had anyone." He paused, not knowing what to say. "It's nice to have someone." He said finally.

"Oh, Tony." Shay sighed, snuggling into his side. "You _do_ have people, more people than you might think. You have me, you have your friend Rhodey and you have your whole team much as you may be arguing with them at the moment, and you also have Bruce. You just have to let them in."

Tony didn't reply, just nodding slightly as he closed his eyes. _But what if I don't know how to do that?_ He wondered to himself as sleep evaded him._What if I'm never able to let anyone in?_ He lay still for a moment before his mind answered himself, softly, but insistently. _You'll never know if you don't try._

…

They didn't speak of their night time conversation the next day at all, though Tony spent a good portion of the morning re calibrating the Mark 42 in earnest, making it so that it was unlikely to ever react like that again whilst he was asleep. Shay had taken it well but it had shaken Tony, he couldn't help thinking what could have happened if the suit had gone full offensive mode on Shay - he would never have been able to forgive himself if she had been hurt by one of his technologies.

After six long hours he was finally happy with the changes, but made a note to test the suit more thoroughly over the following days. Shay had been bugging him to eat lunch with her, so as they sat down at the large table in front of their take out Tony pulled out his phone for the first time that day. There were the normal few messages and missed calls from Pepper, several from Steve that he didn't even bother to read, and to his surprise one from one Bruce Wayne. In the commotion of the previous night he had almost forgotten about texting Bruce, and he suddenly wished he'd had the foresight to check his phone earlier.

_Tony_, it read. _Started to think I wasn't going to hear from you. How's Malibu treating you? -Bruce Wayne_

Tony wondered for a moment how Bruce knew he was hiding out in Malibu, before remembering he had been papped after (and possibly during?) his Rhodey/suit mishap. And _right_, he had never actually gotten around to making a statement about that - that was probably what Pepper was referring to by her text referencing his 'latest PR nightmare'. Had it really been that bad? Tony found himself idly wondering. He hadn't thought so at the time, but Rhodey had acted pretty concerned…He shook his head, casting it from his mind as he glanced back at the phone in his hand.

_Malibu's lovely, as always. Bet you're jealous - you should be, it's really much nicer than dreary old Gotham._

He sent back, glancing over to see Shay looking at him with a raised brow. "Bruce?" She asked, smiling cheekily.

Tony ignored her, scrolling back up to see when Bruce had sent the message - 7:14 AM, he really should have checked his phone earlier. He waited a moment for the reply, before glancing down a little startled as his ringtone went off instead - _Bruce Wayne_ the caller ID informed him. His fingers hovered over the button for a moment as he hesitated, before finally accepting the call.

"Bruce." He greeted as he stood up from the table and walked in to the other room away from Shay's prying ears.

"Tony!" Bruce sounded cheerful on the other line, and from the background noise it sounded like he was driving somewhere. "I know you said you'd be the one to call, but I figured if I waited for you it might never happen." He teased lightly.

Tony frowned but inwardly agreed he was probably right. "Whatever." He grunted into the phone. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, don't be like that." Bruce was definitely in a good mood. "I just wanted to see how you were doing, see if you were planning on coming back to Gotham any time soon?" The question was asked casually, but Tony heard the serious note in his tone.

"I don't know." Tony shrugged, feeling a little awkward. "I'm in Malibu at the moment, so…" He trailed off.

"Yeah, I get it." Bruce said quickly. "I heard you were avoiding New York."

"Who told you that?" Tony demanded, his brow furrowing.

There was a slight pause before Bruce answered, somewhat hesitantly. "Steve." He said finally, sounding a little guilty.

"You're talking to _Steve?_" Tony demanded flatly, his grip tightening on his phone unconsciously.

"No," Bruce assured him, "but he seems to think I am. He emailed me." He admitted.

"He _emailed_ you?" Tony repeated in disbelief.

"Uh-huh." Bruce confirmed, chuckling slightly. "It was sort of amusing, hang on I'll read it to you." There was a pause and a brief clicking of a turning signal as Bruce pulled his car over, presumably getting the email up on his phone. "_Dear Mr. Wayne, I hope this missive finds you in good health_. God, he's so formal. It's a little endearing." Bruce teased, before continuing. "_I am concerned about my team mate, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. I understand the two of you to be acquaintances if not friends, and sources hint that he may have been in Gotham as recently as last week. If you are in contact with Tony, would you please ask him to call me? He has so far not been answering any of the team's calls, and he has missed several important team meetings. I must let you know that we parted on less than ideal terms, and he may not be inclined to speak with me but I urge you to please attempt to convince him otherwise, the team business is bigger than our personal disagreements and I hope you can impart the importance of this on to him, as I know you will understand it. Regards, Captain Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America_."

"Jesus." Tony choked out, stifling a laugh. "Did Captain Tightypants _really_ just email _you_ to tell me to stop being petty and call him back? If I had a mother he probably would have emailed her too." Tony scoffed.

"Mmhmm." Bruce agreed, sounding amused. "I didn't reply, since I wasn't actually in contact with you, until now that is. Do you want me to say anything back?"

"Nah." Tony said as he poured himself a scotch. "Let him fret over the email and worry that he sent it to the wrong person, it'll be funnier."

"Naughty Tony." Bruce admonished teasingly. "I like it."

"I know you do." Tony joked, collapsing onto the couch as he nursed his drink. "So what's new in G-land, anything interesting happening?"

"Yes and no." Bruce said softly. "There's the whole Mandarin situation, which I'm sure you probably know more than me about, knowing you. But that's not specifically effecting Gotham, not yet anyway. Otherwise it's been pretty quiet here, no news to speak of."

Tony paused for a moment as he considered his words, before reminding himself of his decision the night before and just saying what was on his mind. "Quiet enough for a holiday?" He asked quietly, leaving the question open ended for Bruce to interpret how he would.

Bruce was silent for just a moment before answering. "You know, I think that could be arranged. I hear Malibu is nice this time of year."

"Oh, it is." Tony said with a smile. "I'll be here at least another week, if you decide you'd like to see for yourself."

"I'll be there." Bruce said without pause.

Tony found himself grinning slightly despite himself as he answered. "Looking forward to it." Because yeah, _progress_.

**A/N: ****So that was a longer one, hope everyone enjoyed. Don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know how I'm doing! We're now officially in the Iron Man 3 timeline, so we all know what's coming, but hopefully there will be a few surprises along the way though :P**

**About the Chicago Fire canon, not that it really matters since none of the other characters will make an appearance in this, but I have deviated from canon (quite obviously, to anyone who actually watches). Real canon will never be my headcanon on this, because I'm still in complete denial that they killed off Shay. Instead, in my version, Severide is the one who died in the S2 finale shop fire and Shay lived on, to apparently move to New York and befriend Tony Stark mmkay? No dead Shay here, it's pretty much blasphemy that it was ever allowed to happen in the show. I mean seriously. Why on earth would you kill off the hands down best character on the show. SRSLY. I can't even...Ugh. That's all I have to say about that. **

**The FFN posting is now up to date with the AO3 fic now, so you can expect updates on both sites at the same time now instead of AO3 being a few days ahead :)**


	6. Alert but not alarmed

**Chapter Six: Alert but not alarmed**

The first few days Bruce spent with Tony in Malibu were pretty enjoyable, all things considered. He had flown over on Sunday afternoon, and they had spent the night picking up pretty much where they left off in Gotham with a movie marathon before some extra curricular activities in the bedroom.  
>The following day they had taken advantage of the unusually warm day for so late in the year and gone to the beach, careful to wear hats and sunglasses in an attempt not to be recognized (though Bruce was fairly sure Tony had been papped anyway - the man couldn't blend in if his life depended on it).<br>Tony had started off in pretty good spirits, which was apparently directly related to the fact that one of his good friends had stayed for the weekend, leaving just before Bruce himself had arrived. Bruce was happy to see Tony a little more relaxed and at ease than he had seen him before, but he couldn't help but worry that there was still something going on under the surface.  
>For one thing, Tony drank - a lot. Bruce had known Tony drank fairly excessively, even back when he had been in New York many of their encounters had involved a fair amount of scotch or wine. Somehow though that seemed to have increased in recent months, to the point where Tony was barely even waiting an hour or two after breakfast before fetching himself his first drink of the day.<br>The other thing that worried Bruce was the nightmares. He had woken no less than nine times during the course of the first night - Bruce was a very light sleeper and had also been woken by him every time - and the second night hadn't been much better. Worse had been that Tony had remarked in the morning on how _well_ he had slept compared to how he usually did, making Bruce worry about what was normal for him if waking so many times was considered sleeping well. Though he supposed of the nine times none of them had been panic attacks or flash backs, as far as he could tell, so that was one thing.  
>By their third day in Malibu Bruce was positively itching to talk to Tony about his concerns, but he knew by now that doing so would be pretty much the easiest way to get himself sent back to Gotham without so much as a by your leave. Tony had always had a hair trigger to what he saw as confrontation, and Bruce just <em>knew<em> he wouldn't be rational if he brought up any of the things he so desperately wanted to talk about.  
>"When do you think you'll go back to New York?" Bruce wondered as they relaxed in front of the TV that night, hoping it was a safe topic of conversation.<br>Tony shrugged, tossing a piece of popcorn into the air and attempting to catch it with his mouth. After a few goes he finally got it, smiling widely as he turned to Bruce. "No idea, why?" He asked, raising his eyebrow with a slightly suspicious glint in his eye.  
>"No reason, just wondering." Bruce assured him. He had never replied to Steve's email and didn't intend to, though Tony seemed to think he was likely to sell him out at any moment.<br>"I suppose I should head back next week." Tony admitted. "Before Fury sends the hounds after me."  
>"Are the Avengers technically assembled at the moment?" Bruce asked curiously.<br>"Not technically, no." Tony shook his head. "So really, I don't _have_ to be there. Hence why I'm still here."  
>"Do you think Fury will assemble them with this whole Mandarin situation?" Bruce frowned as he thought about it, still very uneasy about the terrorist. Since the Mandarin's first broadcast the itch to do something had been stronger than ever.<br>"Possibly." Tony sighed. "I suppose it will come down to how seriously Fury takes it. Though I have no idea how he is planning on contacting Thor in that event, it's not like they have cell service up there."  
>"Mmm." Bruce agreed absently, his mind still on the Mandarin. He glanced up after a moment to see Tony watching him carefully, a speculative frown on his face. "What?"<br>"You want to go after him, don't you." Tony announced, his eyes still fixed on Bruce.  
>"No." Bruce shrugged. "I just...don't like sitting around and doing nothing when there's a threat. Surely you of all people can understand that."<br>"I can." Tony agreed. "Just don't do anything stupid, this guy is dangerous."  
>"What's <em>that<em> supposed to mean?" Bruce demanded, his gaze narrowing.  
>"Nothing." Tony put his hands up in surrender. "I just meant...well, leave it to guys like Thor whose mystical powers afford them some protection." He said finally.<br>"Oh, and let me guess - that includes Iron Man?" Bruce responded somewhat angrily.  
>"Well unlike you, I do have <em>many<em> different suits, all of them more advanced than the last and affording me with a rather large amount of protection." Tony pointed out, before frowning and looking vaguely like he wanted to back track. "I didn't mean that," he added finally, at Bruce's stormy gaze.  
>"Batman's been around longer than your silly suits." Bruce snapped, standing up quickly. "I may not have any special powers like your Avenger buddies or a suit of armor to hide behind, but I can certainly hold my own. You'd do well to remember your own lack of superpowers and status as a mere mortal, the suit is hardly infallible and I hope you realize that before it comes to light in front of your enemies." He held Tony's defiant gaze for a moment before shaking his head and leaving the room, needing a few minutes without Tony to calm down.<br>Bruce growled a little in frustration as he took a seat on the balcony, Tony could be so God damn condescending and insulting sometimes, whether he meant to or not. He never thought before he spoke and always seemed to dig himself a bigger hole in these situations, his mouth to brain filter could certainly use some work.  
>Worse than that, Bruce thought, was the fact that Bruce was right - Tony never considered his own limitations and Bruce had a horrible feeling it was going to get him into trouble one of these days. He was quick to worry about everyone else's capabilities, but never took a moment to learn his own limits. Bruce just hoped he wouldn't be proven right in the worst way imaginable; by an opponent like the Mandarin getting the better of Tony.<br>After a moment he heard the glass door slide open, looking up to see a rather contrite Tony shuffling out and taking the lounge chair next to him.  
>"I'm sorry." Tony offered without prompting, and hey that was more than Bruce had expected.<br>"I'm not angry at you Tony." Bruce said, turning to him seriously. "I'm just worried. This Mandarin character is brutal, he has caused hundreds of deaths already. Promise me you aren't going to charge in or do anything irrationally stupid."  
>Tony met his gaze before sighing and dropping his head slightly. "I won't." He agreed finally. "I'm being good, staying out of it." <em>For now<em>, Bruce couldn't help thinking, but he supposed that was as good as he was going to get.  
>"Will you come back inside now? It's fucking freezing out here." Tony grumbled. Bruce agreed and followed Tony back inside, knowing this wouldn't be their last argument.<p>

He was right - the next one came just a few days later, partly due to the fact that tensions were still a little high between the two. It was Bruce's own fault, he had known better than to mention certain topics but after Tony's fifth scotch in under an hour he had been unable to ignore the urge to say something about it.  
>"Are you sure you need another one Tony?" He asked carefully, eyes on the drink Tony had just poured himself.<br>Tony had gone on the defensive straight away, hunching over slightly as his eyes narrowed. "What are you, my mother?" He snapped, raising his chin in defiance as he met Bruce's worried gaze.  
>"No." Bruce sighed. "Just your friend, sitting here watching you down drink after drink when you have hardly eaten or slept the entire week I have been here." If his first comment had been treading on thin ice, he quickly realized his second was <em>definitely<em> going to put him under water as Tony put his drink down slowly, staring icily at Bruce.  
>"And how is that <em>any<em> of your business?" He demanded, crossing his arms. "You sound exactly like Steve, God. What is it with you people counting my drinks and treating me like a child? This is _my_ house and I'll have a drink if I fucking want to!" He was positively fuming by the end of it, which was unsurprising seeing as he had seemed on the verge of an outburst all day.  
>"Tony," he sighed, taking a step back to give him some space. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm just worried about you." He admitted softly, making sure his tone was as non-confrontational as he could possibly make it. The last thing he wanted was conflict, even if Tony was determined to make it into that.<br>"You're clearly not okay Tony, and I wouldn't be your friend if I just kept ignoring it. I mean look at you - you hardly sleep, rarely eat, you're out here across the country all on your own, hiding from your friends and team mates. You have flashbacks and panic attacks about New York and refuse to deal with it properly, instead choosing to bottle it all up until it comes out whether you want it to or not. Your drinking is out of control and you've managed to push away everyone who cares about you. Look at how you are right now...you've been trying to find a reason to start an argument pretty much since I arrived, you're always looking to self sabotage whether you realize it or not. I knew there was something wrong even back when I was in New York, and by what I'm seeing now it's only gotten exponentially worse since then. I'm worried, Tony and you can't tell me honestly that I don't have any reason to be." Bruce finished finally, gazing steadily at Tony as he waited for the predictable defensive response.  
>"That's rich, bringing up New York." Tony snapped, shaking his head. "Let's not forget that it was <em>you<em> who couldn't be honest with me. It was _you_who lied to me, got me to trust you and let you in and then betrayed my trust. If I'm worse than I was then it's because _you_ made it worse!"  
>Bruce flinched slightly at the reminder, but held his gaze anyway. "I know I did Tony, and I will always be sorry about that." He admitted softly. "I was in a bad place then myself, and you helped me through it and for that I am grateful. I just wish you would let me help you in return, instead of pushing me away. I truly care about you and still count you among my closest and most trusted companions. We have something special, or at least we <em>could<em>, if you could just deal with some of your problems instead of ignoring them and letting them multiply."  
>"Whatever Bruce, just get out." Tony snapped, turning away. "I'm am <em>so<em> over this conversation."  
>"I know." Bruce sighed. "And I will, I just want you to remember that I'm here. When you finally come to your senses and decide you want to work past this…" He gestured to the room around them. "I want to help you. I want to <em>be<em> with you, but you need to decide what you want. Do you want to keep going like this Tony? Because eventually all the pushing you're doing will work, and people will stop trying...and then where will you be? Here in Malibu, drinking by yourself until you eventually over do it and end up in hospital or worse? I want more for you Tony, I really do." He sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. "Think about it. Call me if you want to talk." He added, before turning and leaving the room.  
>He gathered his things quickly before making his way to the front door, seeing Tony still standing where he had left him. Their gazes met for a moment before Tony looked away, his expression hard. "Goodbye Tony." He said finally, before walking out the door.<p>

While Bruce regretted arguing with Tony, he definitely felt like it had needed to be said and so it was with a grim determination that he returned to Gotham. There wasn't much more he could do for Tony now except wait and hope the stubborn man reached out to him, though it was admittedly more likely that Tony would ignore him for several weeks and hold a grudge far longer than a normal person would. It was frustrating, but it was Tony and childish grudge holding seemed to be a part of his personality, like it or not.  
>Bruce briefly considered sending a message to Steve, before deciding against it. If he did, even out of concern, that would probably be the final straw for Tony and all he needed to justify probably never speaking to Bruce again. So instead Bruce tried to cast it out of his mind, focusing instead on the Mandarin situation as soon as he landed in Gotham.<br>The first thing he did was leave a message for Gordon, asking him to set up a time for the two of them and Blake to meet up about it. Bruce needed to find out what the Commissioner was thinking about the Mandarin, and how he planned to handle any potential threat he may cause to Gotham.  
>Gordon didn't take long to get back to him, and so the following night Bruce found himself creeping onto the PD rooftop to meet him, strangely reminiscent of days long past. "Gordon." He grunted in his Batman voice, causing the older man to chuckle slightly.<br>"Well this is a little familiar, isn't it." Gordon joked. "I must say, you're a lot less intimidating without the batsuit though."  
>"Hey!" Bruce frowned. "I've kept in shape, I could still kick your ancient ass in a fight, that's for damn sure." He teased.<br>"I'm not contesting that." Gordon agreed with a smirk. "Though even little Blake here could probably claim the same, so it's not saying much." He teased, gesturing to the silent Nightwing beside him.  
>"<em>Jim!<em>" Blake whined, "come on man, you're supposed to be taking me seriously now that I'm the sole hero of Gotham." He paused, frowning slightly. "And hey, you aren't supposed to use my real name, remember? Bruce will you tell him it's supposed to be a _secret_ identity?"  
>Bruce chuckled shaking his head. "Leave the kid alone Gordon, I helped train him - his hand to hand is surprisingly good, even if he <em>is<em> on the small side."  
>"Thanks!" Blake preened at the praise, puffing his chest out a little as he stood up straighter.<br>"That last little issue with Scarecrow notwithstanding of course." Bruce added with a smirk.  
>"Oh, fine." Blake sighed. "You two have your little joke. Anyone want to tell me why we're here?"<br>"The Mandarin, I'm guessing?" Gordon offered as the three of them became a little more serious.  
>Bruce nodded carefully. "What are we doing about it?"<br>"Nothing, yet." Gordon said seriously as he adjusted his glasses. "So far the Mandarin has made no specific threat against Gotham." He pointed out.  
>"He's hardly been announcing his targets before he hits them." Bruce argued. "It could be Gotham next, we just don't know. We should have a plan in place."<br>"What would you suggest?" Gordon asked, tilting his head. "As you said, we can't possibly know when or where he is going to target. No one knows where he is or how to find him. I'm really not sure there's much we _can_ do."  
>"That's not good enough." Bruce said after a long pause. "I'm not comfortable just sitting around and hoping Gotham isn't on his list."<br>Gordon raised his eyebrows with a pointed look. "Is this coming from Bruce Wayne, or the Batman? Because I was under the impression that Batman was retired."  
>"I am - he is." Bruce said quickly. "I just want to be sure that we have some kind of contingency plan should the Mandarin target Gotham. This guy just sets me on edge, it doesn't feel right. I have a bad feeling about him." He admitted.<br>"Okay." Gordon agreed. "I'll get to work on it, I'll keep you in the loop. For the time being just keep your ears and eyes open, both of you. If you hear any hint or rumor of a possible attack, bring it straight to me. Be alert but not alarmed, I'll see what I can find out from the higher ups."  
>Bruce nodded in agreement, Blake doing the same across from him. "Thank you Gordon." They soon said their goodbyes and disbanded, Bruce making his way back to his house.<br>Even after the meeting he found himself pacing his house, restless and unable to shake the feeling of wrongness that had settled within him. He couldn't put a finger exactly on what it was, he just felt like something big was going to happen. Something big, and something bad. He just wished he knew where, or how or when.  
>"Fucking Mandarin." He cursed to himself, throwing himself into some pushups to try and get his mind off it. "Why do I have a feeling this is going to involve Tony?" He wondered aloud to himself as he paused after a long set. <em>Probably because Tony always seems to be at the center of big, bad things.<em> His mind replied, cynical as always. He hoped he was wrong, but he somehow doubted it. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen, his mind almost screaming at him that something was wrong. _Maybe I should go back to Malibu...knowing Tony it couldn't hurt to keep a bit of an eye on him._


	7. Good old fashioned revenge

**Chapter Seven: Good old fashioned revenge**

Tony spent the two days after Bruce's departure in a rather foul temper, his mood only getting worse the longer he spent stewing over the argument. He had just started to consider going after Bruce to Gotham to mention a few choice things that had come to him in the days since he left, when he got the news that Happy had been injured in a Mandarin attack on the theater.

His mood had gone from angry at Bruce to being downright furious as he flew immediately to the hospital, anxious to hear news of his ex bodyguard and current head of security at Stark Industries. Luckily Happy had not been fatally injured, and it was with relief that Tony left the hospital and waded through the media circus to his car.

He finally paused at the door, turning to the obnoxious reporter that had been hounding him with a frown on his face. Was this guy serious? He paused for a long moment as he stared at the group of reporters, thoughts swirling through his head. He had promised Bruce he wouldn't do anything stupid, he had _promised_...but it was _Happy_ for fuck's sake. This was personal now.

"Is that what you want?" He snapped, standing up straighter. "Here's a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin, I just didn't know how to phrase it until now." He announced boldly, eyes glittering with rage behind his sunglasses. _Sorry Bruce,_ he thought to himself; because even if he was still angry at the other man he knew this would pretty much sound like a massive 'fuck you' to Bruce after he had specifically promised he wouldn't do exactly this. "My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I have decided," he paused to rip his sunglasses off dramatically, going for maximum effect. "That you just died, pal." He snapped out, his gaze narrowed. "I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here it's just good old fashioned revenge. There's no pentagon it's just you and me. On the off chance you're a man, here's my home address. 10 88 80 Malibu point, 90265 - I'll leave the door unlocked." He finished with a challenging gaze into the camera; let the Mandarin ignore _that_.

He turned back to the reporter with a sharp glare, snatching his phone from his hand. "That's what you wanted right? Bill me." He snapped, throwing the phone into the wall before getting in his car.

He ran a hand through his hair as they drove off, shaking slightly as he went over his words in his head. _Yep_, he was pretty sure that well and truly constituted as doing something irrationally stupid, but hey who gives a fuck. Bruce was an asshole and he shouldn't be feeling guilty about this, the Mandarin had made this personal and he wasn't about to just walk away.

_Come and get me you coward_. He thought to himself. _We'll see who comes out on top._

…

An hour after he arrived back at his Malibu house, he was starting to regret his words a little...okay, maybe more than a little. The press had quickly caught on and were circling his house with helicopters, hoping to catch anything that happened to go down on camera. He had been in the middle of examining the 3D recreation of the latest explosion site when his phone began to ring obnoxiously - three guesses who that would be.

"Hi Pepper." Tony greeted, resigning himself to the scolding he would no doubt receive.

"I cannot _believe_ you!" She snapped, her voice slightly distant as if she was walking quickly while speaking. "_Goading_ him? Tony are you serious? What were you thinking?"

Tony paused, making sure she was finished before answering. "In hindsight, it was probably-"

"Are you _kidding_ me Tony?" She interrupted. "You better be glad I'm in New York, because if I was there I would kick your obnoxious ass for this._Please_ tell me you're already on the jet?"

"Why would I be on the Jet?" Tony asked, wincing as she growled into the phone.

"Get on the jet, now." She ordered angrily. "Get back to New York until this blows over, please Tony." Some of the anger started to bleed out of her voice as concern took over. "Please, do it for me. I know we've had our differences lately but if you care about me at all you will please do this. If I was there I would drag you back myself!"

Tony sighed, shaking his head. "Fine." He agreed. "If it means that much to you, I will. But I meant what I said, I'm not going to sit back and let this guy go unchecked. I plan to _do_ something about it."

"Fine, whatever - I don't care Tony, just please come back to New York first. Get the Avengers together, make a plan. But giving him your home address? Baiting him? Waiting there until he - what? Blows up the house? You really think he's going to come and meet you man to man?" She asked, starting to sound a little desperate.

"_Okay_, Pep you've made your point. I'm coming back okay?" Tony glanced up as the doorbell rang, frowning at the ceiling. "Jarvis who's at the door?" He wondered. "Pep I've got to go, I'll see you tonight okay? Call the team together and we will debrief at the tower."

"Okay." Pepper agreed, sounding somewhat appeased. "Just don't take too long, leave as soon as you can!"

"I will." Tony agreed before hanging up the phone.

"It is Mr. Wayne sir." Jarvis announced, playing the surveillance footage on the screen in which Bruce could be seen standing calmly outside the door. "Shall I let him in?"

"Why not?" Tony muttered, standing up reluctantly and heading down the stairs. He'd just gotten an earful from Pepper, he supposed he was going to get the same from Bruce now too.

"Tony." Bruce greeted casually as Tony reached the foyer. "Is that the new suit?" He motioned to the fully assembled Mark 42 that stood at the bottom of the stairs where Tony had left it earlier.

"Bruce." Tony nodded carefully, trying to gauge his mood. He didn't _seem_ overly angry... "Yeah, I finished it last week. What are you doing here?"

Bruce sighed, taking a few steps further inside. "I didn't like how we left things the other day." He admitted. "I wanted to talk, wasn't sure if you would see me though." Tony admittedly had almost forgotten about their recent fight in the wake of the new Mandarin drama.

"Right." He said slowly. "So not because you saw anything...on the news, perhaps?" He tested cautiously.

"News?" Bruce frowned in confusion. "No - I've only just landed, I slept almost the entire way here. Why, did something happen? Is that what all the helicopters are about?" He gestured to the window where a few news teams could be seen outside.

"Uhhh, nothing." Tony said quickly, backtracking visibly. "It's not important. Look, I was actually just about to leave for New York. It's really not the best time."

"Okay." Bruce nodded slowly. "I understand. Can we...can I see you in the city in a few days?" He asked gently, giving Tony a reassuring smile. "I really think we need to talk about it…"

Tony winced a little at the work 'talk', though even _he_ could admit they needed to have a serious conversation. He had been feeling a little guilty since their fight, admittedly he had even possibly been a _little_ in the wrong. Maybe slightly more than a little. He nodded finally, pausing as a loud knock echoed through the foyer.

"Another visitor?" Tony frowned, walking out into the entryway. "I sure am Mr. Popular today." His frown deepened slightly as he saw the dark haired woman standing on the other side, she looked familiar but he wasn't quite able to immediately place her.

"Let her in, Jarvis." He shrugged, trading a confused glance with Bruce. He stared at her carefully for a moment as she entered, squinting a little as he tried to work out how he knew her. _Oh, right_. The memories flooded into his head - the scientist from that New Year's Eve party over a decade ago. _Switzerland,_ he remembered, _she was a good lay._

"You're not the Mandarin, are you?" He joked, ignoring the slight glare Bruce sent his way.

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "You don't remember." She stated, tilting her head slightly.

"Of course I do, Maya Hansen right? Bern, 1999?" He announced, smirking as she looked slightly taken aback.

"Right." She agreed, sounding surprised before eyeing the silently lurking form of Bruce. "I need to talk to you, it's urgent."

"You can talk in front of him," Tony waved his hand. "He's good with _secrets_." He added, before wincing as he regretted the words. He shot a quick apologetic glance towards Bruce, who merely raised an eyebrow in response and shook his head slightly.

"What is it?" Tony sighed, turning back to Hansen. "Please don't tell me there's a twelve year old kid waiting in the car that I've never met." He grimaced slightly, only half joking. Because _really_, that was the last thing he needed right now.

She opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Bruce. "Tony?" He called, pointing to the TV in the corner of the room. "Why is your house on the news? Wait, what -"

Tony turned to the TV, eyes widening as he noticed the fast moving projectile streaming towards the house. "Shit!" He cursed beginning to call the suit as the windows shattered in a huge explosion. The force threw all three of them off their feet, sending Tony flailing backwards as he stared at Bruce's falling form in front of him. Suddenly he made a snap decision, jerking his hand in Bruce's direction as he redirected the suit to form around the larger man instead of himself.

Bruce hit the wall with a loud metallic clunk, the suit only just managing to encase him in time. Tony landed with a sharp twinge of pain, the side of his head colliding with the ground with a loud crack a moment later as dust settled around them. He blinked and shook his head, his ears ringing loudly as the sound of approaching helicopters could be heard. He started to get up with a groan, his entire body screaming out in pain. His eyes fell on Maya collapsed unconscious in front of him before glancing up to the ceiling as he heard an ominous crack. His eyes widened as he noticed the ceiling about to fall, only to find himself shielded at the last moment by Bruce, the suit now fully enclosed around his body.

"You okay Tony?" Bruce rasped,helping him to his feet.

"Mhmmm." Tony nodded, blinking slowly as his vision blurred slightly. "Think I hit my head." He muttered, his hand reaching up to feel it vaguely. He studied his hand carefully as he brought his hand back down, staring wide eyed at the significant amount of blood.

"You're an idiot." Bruce grunted as Tony leaned heavily on him. "Why on earth would you send the suit to me?" He demanded. "Tony?" He called, as Tony shook his head and tried to focus. "How bad is it?"

Tony's reply was lost in the sudden noise that erupted as three smaller rockets crashed through the now glassless windows. "Move!" He snapped, jumping out of the way just in time as one of them exploded in front of them. The floor began to crumble out from beneath them, creating a huge fissure that separated them on either side.

"Get her out," he gestured to the prone form of Maya Hansen at Bruce's feet. "I'll find a way around. Go!" He shouted, as Bruce paused and looked back at him. He looked extremely reluctant and his gaze was glued to the gash on Tony's head as he nodded finally.

"Be careful!" He ordered, before turning and scooping Maya into his arms.

Tony raced back the other way, only to be cut off by yet another explosion. "For fuck's sake!" He snapped, throwing his arms up to shield his face.

There was another huge crash as another rocket collided, the floor starting to slide as the house began to crumble. "Mother fucker!" He began to slide down the floor, unable to get across quickly enough. He grabbed hold of a beam and swung himself up, gasping loudly.

"Sir, Mr. Wayne is clear of the structure." Jarvis announced, sounding more concerned than Tony had ever heard him.

"Thank fuck." He gasped, before throwing his arm out and calling the suit to him.

He dove off the beam as the parts flew towards him, regretting his mid air assembly speed alterations the previous week as it came just a little too slowly. He was knocked off his feet by yet another explosion as the last few pieces of the suit flew towards him, the helmet finally slamming down into place and the interface starting up.

"Jarvis, where's my flight power?" He snapped as he slid down the incline of the floor, feeling much more secure now that he had donned the suit.

"Working on it Sir - this is a prototype." Jarvis snarked.

He quickly took out the first of the circling helicopters, ignoring Jarvis' protests about the combat readiness of the suit. _It's gonna have to do_, he thought as he aimed at the second helicopter. He inwardly cheered as it fell, only to stop as he realized it's trajectory was heading straight for him.

A second too late he dodged, only to be knocked down once again into the cavern that had once been his Malibu house. He groaned with pain as he felt the structure shifting again beneath him, it wouldn't be long before the whole thing fell into the sea.

He wasn't wrong - just seconds later he felt the unmistakable lurch as what was left of his house crumbled and was sent rocketing into the ocean. Before long he was completely submerged, sinking to the bottom alarmingly quickly. He grunted as something very heavy fell on top of him, his head pounding and his heart racing. His vision was beginning to fade to black, the pain in his head spiking to a new high. His breathing was fast and uncontrollable as he struggled against the weight. He tried to calm himself at Jarvis' urging, finally using the gauntlet of the suit to pull himself out from under the object that was pinning him.

"Flight power restored." Jarvis announced, Tony almost sighing with relief as he shot upwards and emerged from the water, heading straight for the sky.

He must have blacked out after that, because the next thing he knew there was a loud beeping in his ears following by Jarvis' sharp voice.

"Sir!" He jerked properly awake, his mind a little slow to catch up as his head pounded almost in time to his heart beat.

"Kill the alarm." He muttered, his vision swimming.

"That's the emergency alert, triggered by the power dropping below five percent." Jarvis warned somewhat anxiously.

_What?_ Tony blinked, struggling to recall what had happened. "Fuck." He swore as the attack came back to him slowly. His eyes widened as he finally processed the scene in front of him - he was going to crash.

There was absolutely nothing he could do to avoid it, but that didn't make it hurt any less as he collided with the ground, bouncing a few times before screeching to a stop in the middle of a snow covered forest floor.

He groaned loudly, his entire body just one giant screaming pain. "Mother fucker." He rasped, thinking for a moment he might lose consciousness again.

He rolled weakly onto his back, his breath coming in short gasps. He yanked the face plate off, taking a few steadying breaths before asking Jarvis where the fuck they had ended up.

"We are five miles outside of Rose hill, Tennessee." Jarvis answered dryly.

Tony blinked slowly, processing that information. "_Why?_" He demanded finally, his mouth open in shock - because ending up almost 2000 miles away from where they had started just didn't make any sense. "Jarvis, _why?_ What are we doing here? This is thousands of fucking miles away!" _Did Bruce get out? Is he okay?_ He wondered. _What the fuck even happened? Why is my head so God damned sore?_

He frowned as Jarvis jumbled something about a flight plan and malfunctioning, before cutting out completely. "God fucking damnit!" Tony cursed as the suit fell away, sitting up in the freezing cold air. "Jarvis?"

"I actually think I need to sleep now, Sir." Came the softer than usual voice, before it fell into silence.

"Oh Jesus." Tony sighed, rubbing his arms to encourage circulation. "Don't leave me, buddy." He murmured, raising a hand to the side of his head that was still pounding. He frowned as it came away bloody, wondering how hard he had been hit. He tried to remember exactly what had happened, but he still wasn't exactly sure. He remembered the attack but it was slightly hazy, and thinking too hard about it only made his head hurt even worse. He recalled making the (admittedly very stupid, he could definitely see that now) challenge to the Mandarin, he remembered arguing with Pepper and agreeing to come back to New York. He remembered Bruce and Maya arriving, and an explosion...and then it was pretty foggy from there. "Concussion." He muttered, attempting to blink away the spots in his vision. "Broken ribs," he winced as he felt along them. "Sprained ankle?" He wondered as he circled the joint. "Nope, just bruised. Bruised everything." He muttered. Luckily he didn't seem to have hurt his back or his legs, other than his twingy right ankle. His arms felt relatively okay, although one shoulder screamed in pain when he tried to extend it too much. _Not sore enough to be dislocated - hopefully just strained?_ He had an open gash on his right side from the initial explosion that might need stitches plus his obvious head wound, but otherwise he would probably be okay. If he didn't freeze to death trying to find civilization, that is. "What the fuck am I supposed to do now?" He wondered out loud - there was no answer, possibly for the first time since he had created Jarvis he was completely on his own.

**A/N:**

**And so Iron Man 3 plot gets underway...I try to avoid just rewriting the movie scenes where possible but some things just have to happen the same way for the plot to work, so forgive those instances. Though usually there will be a few differences from the movie scenes since this IS an AU, so hopefully that will keep it interesting-ish. Updates will probably slow a bit now as I'm back at uni tomorrow, but I'm hoping to keep to one a week. Thanks for everyone's comments and kudos as always!**


	8. A Gut Feeling

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I've got a nice long Brucie chapter for you to make up for it! Updates will probably only be once a week on weekends now that I am at nursing school and have very little time during the week. Thanks as always for reading & reviewing :)**

**Chapter Eight: A Gut Feeling**

Bruce scooped the unmoving form of Maya Hansen up into his arms, making a beeline for the other side of the house. He glanced back quickly but Tony was already out of sight, Bruce hoped he had already gotten out of the house. He was pretty annoyed at Tony as it was - what had possessed the other man to send the suit to Bruce instead of himself? Did he think Bruce couldn't look after himself? Bruce growled in frustration as he kicked the glass window, shattering the glass and giving them a way out.

He carefully lay Maya down on the ground, leaning over to check her respirations. She was breathing, and as he leaned back he noticed her beginning to come around. Suddenly the suit started to fly off him in pieces, zooming back inside the collapsing mansion - Tony must have called it back.

Bruce winced as the sound of another explosion echoed loudly, the road trembling slightly beneath his knees. "Get out of there, Tony." He muttered, pulling out his phone.

He quickly dialed 911, requesting an ambulance for Maya as she blinked slowly, starting to sit up. "What happened?" She asked slowly.

"Explosion." Bruce said shortly, staring at the house in horror as a helicopter crashed into it. Tony was obviously doing some damage in the suit, though Bruce had not seen him flying which was a little concerning. _Was the new suit even flight capable yet? _He wondered, he certainly hoped it was.

Suddenly there was a loud creak before the entire house started to slide into the ocean, leaving just some of the lower structure behind. "Tony!" Bruce jumped to his feet, eyes wide as he watched in horror.

"Did he get out? Did you see him get out?" He snapped at Maya, starting towards the house.

"No." She said simply, sounding dazed as she carefully got to her feet. "I didn't see him."

Bruce quickly re-entered the rubble zone, making his way to the edge as quickly as he could. He stopped by the crumbling precipice, staring into the ocean below.

"He must be in the water." Maya came to stand beside him, shock evident on her face. Her head was bleeding a little, which was probably what had caused her to lose consciousness. "But he had the suit, right? So he should be okay?"

Bruce hook his head. "It's a new suit, I'm not sure of it's capabilities." He said shortly, still staring into the ocean as he searched for any sign of Tony. He turned away after a long moment, pulling his phone out once more.

"Lucius?" He said as the man answered. "I need a search party here at Tony's Malibu house as quickly as you can. I need the entire ocean floor within a mile radius swept if that's what it takes. Can you make that happen?"

"Of course." Fox's voice was somewhat sombre. "I saw it on the news, it's being broadcast on all networks. Are you okay Bruce?"

"I'm fine." Bruce snapped. "Just get people searching. Do we have Pepper Pott's number?"

"I'll text it to you." Fox assured him. "Try not to worry Bruce, Mr. Stark has gotten himself out of worse."

"Thank you." Bruce sighed, hanging up the phone. "Come on," he turned to Maya. "You need to go to the hospital."

She followed him obediently back out to the front of the house where an ambulance was just pulling up, along with several police cars. He helped her to the ambulance before making his way over to the cops, who were grouped outside the house.

"Mr. Wayne," the detective greeted with a nod. "Any sign of Mr. Stark?"

"None." Bruce grunted, shaking his head. "I've got people coming to assist with the search, what is being done on your end?"

"We have some navy divers on the way, as well as an air unit to search for any sign above water. If he's down there, we'll find him." The detective assured him.

One of the cops standing near by scoffed loudly, shaking his head. "Bit silly of him though, wasn't it?" He said with a heavy frown, his British accent sounding loud and obnoxious to Bruce's ears. "He was asking for it if you ask me."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked slowly.

"You didn't see it?" The cop raised a surprised eyebrow. "All over the news, it was. He publicly challenged the Mandarin, gave him his home address and dared him to come a-knocking. Almost deserves what he got if you ask me. That man has more arrogance than any man rightly should."

"He _what?_" Bruce gaped, blinking slowly and pulling out his phone. Within seconds he found the clip on youtube, titled "_Tony Stark takes on the Mandarin_". He watched the short clip, his anger growing with every second.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." He said flatly.

"See? The man's an idiot." Bruce ignored the cop, turning away and making his way back towards his car. His phone beeped with a message - Pepper's number from Fox. He quickly called the number, having to try three times before it was answered.

"Hello?" The woman on the other end, presumably Pepper Potts, sounded out of breath.

"Is this Pepper Potts?" Bruce asked.

"Speaking." She said shortly, her voice clipped.

"This is Bruce Wayne, a friend of Tony's. I was...here, when Tony-"

"Bruce!" Pepper exclaimed, cutting him off mid sentence. "I hoped you were okay, I saw you there on the news but it wasn't really clear if you made it out - they just keep repeating the house collapse over and over. _Please_ tell me Tony is with you?" Bruce winced at the desperation in her tone.

"I'm sorry, he isn't." He admitted quietly. "He...I think he was still inside when it went down."

"Oh God!" Pepper cried. "Please tell me he had one of the suits?"

"He did." Bruce confirmed slowly. "But it was the new one, the mark 42. Is that suit flight capable yet?"

"I'm not sure." Pepper's voice wobbled a little, she sounded close to tears. "I know he had only just finished primary testing, it may not have been. Do you...do you think Tony's _dead?_" She whispered brokenly.

Bruce paused for a long moment. "No. No, I don't."

"Did you see something?" She asked quickly.

"No," Bruce sighed. "It's just a gut feeling. I don't think he's dead. They'll be starting the underwater search momentarily, I will keep you updated."

"Okay, thank you Bruce. I'm heading straight over, so I won't be contactable for a few hours." She said quickly, sounding slightly muffled as if she was doing several things while having him on loudspeaker.

"I'll still be here." He assured her, before hanging up.

…

Bruce spent the next two days in Malibu, overseeing the ocean search with Pepper. He even accompanied the divers on the second day hoping he could find something they had missed, but nothing turned up. They found pieces of many of the Iron Man suits, but according to Pepper none of them were from the Mark 42 and Tony's body was not recovered.

"What does this mean?" Pepper wondered as they stood on the edge off the cliff, looking down on the work happening in the ocean below. "If we can't find him, I mean."

"We can't know for sure," Bruce said carefully, "but I think he got out."

"Then why hasn't he contacted anyone? Has the Mandarin taken him?" Pepper asked desperately, looking up at the sky for answers. The last two days had been hard on her, she had barely slept and spent all her time helping coordinate the search for Tony.

"It's possible." Bruce answered. "I think it's time to go to New York, bring the other Avengers in on this. Maybe Dr. Banner could be of assistance, it might even be possible to track the suit."

"The news is saying he's dead. What if he really is?" Pepper blinked quickly, fighting tears.

"I don't believe that." Bruce said firmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We will find him."

After that Bruce headed to New York, leaving Pepper in Malibu to continue organizing the search, and to be with Happy who was still in hospital. He couldn't shake the feeling that there were answers to be found in New York, he just wasn't sure where to start looking. The first thing he did when he landed was to call Gordon, hoping he might have some useful input.

"Bruce?" Gordon said immediately as the phone was answered. "Thank God you are okay." His voice sounded slightly worried, and slightly annoyed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Bruce wondered, sipping the coffee he had just purchased with a frown.

"I saw you on the news, at the Stark house." Gordon explained. "I've tried to call you, I thought you might have...well, it didn't look good."

_Oh, that's right._ Bruce remembered, he _had _seen the voicemail from Gordon the previous day but hadn't had a chance to listen to it. "I didn't realize I was even shown on the broadcast," Bruce admitted. "I'm sorry, I should have gotten back to you sooner."

"It's fine, at least you're okay. Is it true what they've announced on the news? Is Tony Stark dead?" Bruce wondered what Gordon knew about his and Tony's friendship, he hadn't thought he even knew they knew each other but now he wasn't so sure.

"That's what I need you to help me find out." Bruce revealed carefully. "I don't think he is, there's been no body found and no sign of the suit. At worst, I think he might have been taken by the Mandarin. At best, he's just lost somewhere...possibly with a bump to the head and no memories, considering he hasn't called anyone." He joked half heartedly. "But I think the former is more likely." He sighed.

"I'll do my best Bruce, but I can't promise anything. I don't think anyone higher up knows anything at all, but I will try and find out for you."

"Thank you." Bruce sighed. "This whole thing just doesn't feel right." He said quietly.

Gordon hummed in agreement. "You might be right. I've heard a few rumors, some of the feds working the Mandarin case have big mouths, it's started to circle around the department that they think the Mandarin has ties to another villain."

"Another villain?" Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. "Do they know who?"

"Take one guess." Gordon sighed.

Bruce closed his eyes shaking his head. "Please tell me you are not talking about the Joker." He deadpanned.

"It's just a rumor." Gordon said hurriedly. "Probably spawned by the fact that he was never taken into custody after his last run in with Blake. Blake thought his shot was close enough to his heart to kill him, but I'm not so sure. If there's anything I've learnt about that clown it's that he is resilient."

"That he is." Bruce agreed. "This is bad news for everyone involved. I want him found, when was the last sighting?"

Gordon paused for a long moment before answering. "New York." He said finally. "But it was months ago, it could be completely unrelated."

"Or it could be _completely_ related." Bruce grunted.

"It could." Gordon sighed.

"If he's caught again, I don't want him locked up this time." Bruce said firmly. "He's had enough God damned chances. This time we kill him."

"I agree." Gordon said solemnly. "He's too dangerous to let him escape again. Look, don't worry about it too much. My gut feeling is that he isn't involved. I'll see what I can find out about Stark, I'll keep you updated."

"Thank you Gordon." Bruce sighed before hanging up the phone. "That fucking clown will be the death of me." He muttered, putting his phone into his pocket.

He threw away his now cold coffee, deciding it was time to see the Avengers, hopefully they would have something to add to this whole mess. He arrived at the Avengers tower by nightfall, ringing the doorbell and waiting for the automated service.

To his surprise the doorbell was answered, a familiar voice greeting him. "Bruce, I was wondering if you would turn up." Steve's voice was somewhat subdued, but still as friendly as he had generally been towards Bruce.

"Can I come in?" Bruce asked.

"Of course." There was a soft beeping in the background before the door swung open. "Just come up to level four, that's the main Avengers level."

Bruce nodded and entered the building, imputing level four into the elevator. He had only ever been to the lower floors, as Tony had never spent much time in the above floors and instead preferred to stay in his lab on the lowest floor.

The doors opened to reveal a spacious living room, furnished with several couches and a huge plasma screen TV. Steve was waiting to greet him, along with a placid, somewhat awkward looking man that Bruce assumed was Dr. Banner.

"Hi, Bruce." Steve greeted warmly. "It's good to see you again."

"Like wise." Bruce nodded shortly, not really in the mood for pleasantries.

"This is the other Bruce, Dr. Bruce Banner." Steve introduced the other man, who nodded and smiled at Bruce.

"It's good to meet you," Banner offered with his soft, friendly voice. "I've heard a lot about you from Tony and Steve."

"The pleasure is mine." Bruce nodded and shook his hand. "Tony speaks very highly of you." Banner blushed slightly but nodded his thanks. "Speaking of," Bruce decided to get right to it. "I was hoping the two of you and the other Avengers might be able to aid in the search for Tony. The initial ocean searches have come up empty, and nothing has been heard from him."

Steve frowned, a regretful look crossing his face. "I know." He sighed. "It seems that popular opinion is that he's dead, even Fury seems to think so."

Bruce raised an eyebrow slowly. "What's being done about it?" He demanded. "What is Fury doing to find Tony?"

Steve shifted, looking uncomfortable. "He...he isn't doing much." He admitted, a guilty look crossing his face. "I've tried, but Fury said there are other, more important things going on and he can't spare the manpower searching for a probably-dead man. I'm starting to think there is more to the reason he has brought all the Avengers back here than just team bonding."

"I'm surprised you're okay with that, Captain." Bruce said quietly, doing his best to keep his tone free of accusation but failing slightly.

"I'm not." Steve's eyes narrowed. "I said _Fury_ wasn't doing anything, I didn't say _we_ weren't. Dr. Banner has been hacking into satellites and security cameras to try and find him, but it's arduous work, it could take months to even get a lead."

Banner nodded with a frown. "It's not the most promising option." He admitted quietly.

"What about tracking the suit?" Bruce asked carefully. "Tony was wearing one of the suits, could you try and track it?"

"I could try." Bruce nodded. "The problem is I know next to nothing about that suit. It was the newest one, correct? The one he's been working on?" Bruce nodded in affirmation. "I've seen some of the earlier blueprints but I know Tony altered it a lot right before primary testing. The autonomous aspect makes it very different to the others, if it had been just one suit previous I could have tracked it with ease. Maybe if I had access to the newest blueprints…" He trailed off, frowning as he thought.

"Miss Potts should be able to get you access. If you have the blueprints do you think it's possible?" Bruce pulled out his phone, sending a quick text to Pepper.

"It's definitely possible." Banner agreed. "While you're at it, ask Pepper if we can get access to Tony's lab - Jarvis is completely down, has been since Tony went missing, so we can't access the lab without the security code."

Bruce nodded and added it on to the end of his text, hitting send before stowing his phone away in his pocket. "Where are the other Avengers?" He wondered, looking around at the empty floor.

"Nat and Clint got sent back out on a mission, we weren't told anything else." Steve sighed. "There's definitely something bigger going on that Fury isn't telling us. Thor hasn't been back in months, and there's no way to reach him on Asgard."

Bruce blinked slowly, his eyes narrowing. "So only the two of you are currently here in new York?" Steve nodded slowly in response. "It would be a very bad time for someone to threaten New York then, wouldn't it."

Bruce watched as realization crossed Steve's face, his eyes widening as he traded a glance with Banner. "You think someone could be planning an attack?"

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know...but it's all seeming a little suspicious to me."

"We'll stay on our guard then." Steve assured him. "I'll try and contact Clint and Nat, maybe talk to Jane and find out if she knows when Thor might be back. Are you planning on staying in New York?"

"I'm not going anywhere until Tony is found." Bruce said firmly. "It may have happened in Malibu but I think the answers lie here." He pulled out his card from his pocket, offering it to Steve. "Stay alert and call me immediately with any news. Banner, get started on trying to track the suit. Pepper will send you the security codes. I'm going to try and find out what Shield is hiding."

Steve's eyes narrowed, and for a moment Bruce thought he might argue. Their eyes met briefly as Bruce stared back, daring Steve to try and challenge his authority. Finally Steve sighed and dropped his gaze, nodding vaguely.

"Will do." He said tersely, still looking a little annoyed. Bruce couldn't care less if he was undermining Captain America's leadership, if it meant finding Tony he would do it a hundred times.

"Check in tomorrow, or earlier if you have anything." Bruce said finally, turning back to the elevator before stopping suddenly. "There's one more thing." He said slowly, turning back to face Steve. "I have it on good authority that the Joker has been spotted in the area." He said finally, deciding he needed to warn them. "It may be just a coincidence...or it may be connected. I'm not sure, the sighting was months ago but it's the first time he's ever been seen in New York. Usually Gotham is enough for him to worry about." He muttered, shaking his head.

"The Joker is still _alive_?" Steve demanded, eyes narrowing.

Bruce nodded slowly. "Yes." He said simply.

"_Why?"_ Steve snapped, disbelief written all over his face. "Haven't you caught him at least three times now?"

Bruce paused, shuffling slightly before answering. "...Five times." He admitted finally.

"Five?" Banner coughed, shaking his head.

"He's...resourceful. Each time we have locked him up in the highest security we can think of, each time he somehow escapes." Bruce said with a frown.

Steve shook his head slowly, eyes wide. "Here in New York we _kill_ dangerous criminals!"

"Oh, like you did Loki?" Bruce snapped back quickly.

"Loki was different," Steve argued. "We didn't have jurisdiction. But if it was up to us and not Asgard, after what he did - _yes_ Loki would have been killed."

"It's not as simple as that." Bruce said angrily. "We don't kill unless we have to."

"Oh fantastic, and now your escaped problem is threatening _our_ city!" Steve exclaimed, his eyes showing his otherwise contained fury.

"He's not threatening your city." Bruce snapped. "He was just sighted here, once, three months ago." Bruce knew he shouldn't have mentioned it, Captain America was nothing if not dramatic.

"Okay, let's calm this down." Banner interrupted, blinking quickly. "Or take it somewhere else, all this yelling is really testing my control."

Bruce glanced at the quiet man, noticing for the first time the slight green tinge that had started to appear on his face. "No need." He said, his tone clipped. "I'll be taking my leave." He met Steve's steady glare for a moment, eyes narrowing into his own icy stare.

"I'll walk you out." Banner said quickly, motioning towards the elevator. Bruce stared for one more moment before breaking the contact, turning and striding into the elevator without another look behind him. He could practically hear Steve fuming behind them as the doors closed, Banner standing quietly next to him as his color started to return to normal.

"Thank you for helping us find Tony." Banner blurted out as the elevator began to move.

"Why wouldn't I?" Bruce questioned with a frown.

Banner shrugged, looking uncomfortable. Bruce was beginning to suspect that uncomfortable was his default setting. "I know you and Tony had a...falling out. He wouldn't say much about it, but I know he regretted it deeply." Banner admitted.

Bruce blinked, thinking over his words. "We did." He said finally. "I was untruthful about something very important, and I thought Tony would never forgive me for it. However we...reconnected at the CES expo and have become friends again." He said simply.

Bruce met his gaze for a moment before nodding, smiling slightly. "I'm glad." He said softly. "Tony's had a hard time of it lately, he could use all the friends he can get."

Bruce nodded, remaining silent until the elevator opened onto the first floor. "Thank you Dr. Banner, please keep me apprised as you work."

"I will." Banner promised. Bruce left the tower feeling both a little more hopeful, and a little more worried at the same time. He was glad Tony's team was doing what they could to help and hoped Banner at least would make some progress, but Steve's words had worried him. He wasn't sure what it all meant, but if it _was_ leading up to an attack on New York they would be seriously outmatched with four out of six avengers unaccounted for.

_Not my problem_, he thought to himself. _New York is not my problem...but it is Tony's_. And that, he thought was enough. He could hardly walk away now, much as he might want to head straight back to Gotham and forget about this mess, he could no more leave now then if it was Gotham facing a threat. _Isn't it ironic_, he mused, _how the city I hate becomes the city I'm forced to help protect. _


End file.
